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Benchmarks closed in the red on Friday as lawmakers struggled to come to a unanimous decision for additional coronavirus stimulus measures.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 124.32 points, or 0.4%, to close at 30,179.05 and the S&P 500 fell 13.07 points, or 0.4%, to close at 3,709.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 12,755.64, declining 9.11 points, or 0.1%. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 1.6%, to close at 21.57. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones for 1.3-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.2-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq favored advancers.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
Dec 18 also marked as the “quadruple witching day”, the date when stock-index futures, stock-index options, stock options, and single-stock futures expire simultaneously. Trader get into rebalancing of portfolios and that leads to a potential source of volatility. This quadruple witching day coincides with Tesla, Inc. (TSLA - Free Report) inclusion in the S&P 500 and helped the stock add nearly 6% for the session. Tesla carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, seven ended in the red with the real estate and energy sector closing 1.8% and 1.6%, lower for the session, respectively. A 6.3% drop in shares of Intel Corporation (INTC - Free Report) weighed on the Dow. Along with a 2.3% and 1.6% decline in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NKE - Free Report) and Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) , respectively.
On Friday, the S&P 500 posted 31 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 360 new highs and 12 new lows.
Lawmakers Struggle to Pass Additional Relief Package
Earlier on Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellsaid that he was optimistic that lawmakers would come to an agreement on a $900 billion package of economic relief. This would send checks to households, extend unemployment benefits and also provide aid to small businesses. However, as by afternoon both the houses were reportedly looking to extend a midnight Friday deadline to complete a bill funding government operations. Both the Democratic and Republican lawmakers agreed to vote on a $900 billion package and avoid a government shutdown as the pandemic worsens.
Meanwhile, coronavirus cases continue to remain a concern in the United States, as per a MarketWatch article, according to data provided by the New York Times, 238,189 new coronavirus cases were reported in the country on Thursday.
Weekly Roundup
For the week ending Dec 18, the S&P 500, the Dow and the Nasdaq added 1.3%, 0.4% and 3.1%. The S&P 500 ended this week as its fourth positive week in five. Stocks advanced earlier this week as investors gained optimism toward a stimulus deal and coronavirus vaccine rollout. However, disappointing economic data weighed investors’ sentiments over the economy’s recovery. Jobless claims for the week ending Dec 11 hit the highest level since early September and retail sales fell more than expected in November.
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Stock Market News for Dec 21, 2020
Benchmarks closed in the red on Friday as lawmakers struggled to come to a unanimous decision for additional coronavirus stimulus measures.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 124.32 points, or 0.4%, to close at 30,179.05 and the S&P 500 fell 13.07 points, or 0.4%, to close at 3,709.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 12,755.64, declining 9.11 points, or 0.1%. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 1.6%, to close at 21.57. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones for 1.3-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.2-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq favored advancers.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
Dec 18 also marked as the “quadruple witching day”, the date when stock-index futures, stock-index options, stock options, and single-stock futures expire simultaneously. Trader get into rebalancing of portfolios and that leads to a potential source of volatility. This quadruple witching day coincides with Tesla, Inc. (TSLA - Free Report) inclusion in the S&P 500 and helped the stock add nearly 6% for the session. Tesla carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, seven ended in the red with the real estate and energy sector closing 1.8% and 1.6%, lower for the session, respectively. A 6.3% drop in shares of Intel Corporation (INTC - Free Report) weighed on the Dow. Along with a 2.3% and 1.6% decline in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NKE - Free Report) and Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) , respectively.
On Friday, the S&P 500 posted 31 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 360 new highs and 12 new lows.
Lawmakers Struggle to Pass Additional Relief Package
Earlier on Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellsaid that he was optimistic that lawmakers would come to an agreement on a $900 billion package of economic relief. This would send checks to households, extend unemployment benefits and also provide aid to small businesses. However, as by afternoon both the houses were reportedly looking to extend a midnight Friday deadline to complete a bill funding government operations. Both the Democratic and Republican lawmakers agreed to vote on a $900 billion package and avoid a government shutdown as the pandemic worsens.
Meanwhile, coronavirus cases continue to remain a concern in the United States, as per a MarketWatch article, according to data provided by the New York Times, 238,189 new coronavirus cases were reported in the country on Thursday.
Weekly Roundup
For the week ending Dec 18, the S&P 500, the Dow and the Nasdaq added 1.3%, 0.4% and 3.1%. The S&P 500 ended this week as its fourth positive week in five. Stocks advanced earlier this week as investors gained optimism toward a stimulus deal and coronavirus vaccine rollout. However, disappointing economic data weighed investors’ sentiments over the economy’s recovery. Jobless claims for the week ending Dec 11 hit the highest level since early September and retail sales fell more than expected in November.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential
The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.
Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +50%, +83% and +164% in as little as 2 months. The stocks in this report could perform even better.
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