U.S. Stocks Climb as Investors Bet on Stimulus
December 04 2020 - 12:36PM
Dow Jones News
By Karen Langley, Caitlin Ostroff and Frances Yoon
U.S. stock indexes headed for records Friday as this week's
revival of stimulus negotiations bolstered expectations that the
economy can weather the pandemic's continued spread.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6%, or about 185
points, putting it on pace for a new record and its second close
over 30000. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq
Composite added 0.6%, with both indexes also on pace for new
highs.
Investors have watched closely in recent days as momentum grows
in Washington for a new coronavirus aid package. President Trump's
top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, urged legislators Friday to act
quickly. Congressional leaders said a day earlier that a compromise
was within reach.
"You are still looking at an economy that is in pain," said Amy
Kong, chief investment officer at Barrett Asset Management. "You
want to make sure that the household income is continuing on, or
the momentum is there, because I believe once household income gets
to a level where it impacts confidence, it's going to be hard to
get folks to spend again."
Figures released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed
that employers added 245,000 jobs last month, down from the 638,000
jobs added in October and below economists' expectations. The
unemployment rate declined to 6.7% from 6.9% in October.
"The jobs report's important," said Tom Hainlin, national
investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "But it just
kind of confirms what we're seeing, which is there's only so much
recovery we're going to see until we can get the economy fully
reopened."
Newly reported Covid-19 cases in the U.S. hit a record high
Thursday, as did deaths reported in a day, as the global death toll
from the coronavirus pandemic passed 1.5 million. Hospitalizations
also hit a record, with 100,667 people in the U.S. admitted as of
Thursday, according to the Covid Tracking Project.
Trading in stocks this week has been mixed following last
month's rally, when investors cheered progress in Covid-19
vaccines. The S&P 500 is up 1.5% for the week, while the Dow
industrials are on pace for a 0.8% weekly gain.
"The market is now pausing a little bit, but the underlying
story is still intact -- that there is basically a global
recovery," said Luca Paolini, chief strategist at Pictet Asset
Management. "It is difficult to see what can change this kind of
positive outlook for equities."
Among individual stocks, shares in DocuSign gained 5.6% after
the company provided guidance that topped analysts' expectations.
Ulta Beauty shares declined 2.5% after its chief executive said the
company is expecting fourth-quarter comparable-store sales to fall
between 12% and 14%.
In bond markets, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note
rose to 0.969%, from 0.919% on Thursday.
Brent crude futures, the global benchmark for oil markets,
climbed 0.9% to $49.13 a barrel after OPEC and a group of
Russia-led oil producers agreed to increase their collective output
by 500,000 barrels a day next month.
The world's biggest producers are betting that the worst of a
pandemic-inspired shock to demand is behind them after curtailed
travel weighed heavily on oil prices this year.
Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.6%. The
Nikkei declined 0.2%. The Shanghai Composite was flat.
In Hong Kong, shares of China National Offshore Oil and
Semiconductor Manufacturing International dropped over 2% after the
U.S. Defense Department added the state oil giant and chip maker to
a list of nearly three dozen companies the U.S. says helps the
country's military. Overall, the Hang Seng Index rose 0.4%.
The blacklist, which the U.S. launched last month, has hit
stocks and bonds of the targeted Chinese companies. Index compilers
FTSE Russell, JPMorgan and MSCI are rethinking their stance on
these securities targeted by the U.S. government and have been
collecting investor feedback.
Write to Karen Langley at karen.langley@wsj.com, Caitlin Ostroff
at caitlin.ostroff@wsj.com and Frances Yoon at
frances.yoon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 04, 2020 12:21 ET (17:21 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.