Sun, Jul 19, 2020 page14

• S&P 500 ends up despite virus worries

  OPTIMISM: Investors are hoping for further fiscal support from Washington, as a program that offers additional unemployment benefits is due to expire on July 31

  • Reuters
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  The S&P 500 ended higher on Friday as investors weighed the prospect of more fiscal stimulus against fears of further business disruptions due to a record rise in COVID-19 cases in the US.

  Netflix Inc tumbled 6.5 percent after the video streaming service forecast slower-than-expected subscriber growth during the third quarter, pulling the communication services sector down 0.4 percent.

  The S&P 500 utilities, real-estate and healthcare indices were the session’s strongest gainers.

  

  However, a 1.5 percent drop in Goldman Sachs Group Inc helped keep the Dow Jones Industrial Average in negative territory.

  For the week, the S&P 500 and the Dow rose 1.25 percent and 2.29 percent respectively, after optimism over an eventual novel coronavirus vaccine and hopes of a post-pandemic economic recovery helped investors look past a continuous surge in COVID-19 cases.

  Cases on Friday rose by at least 70,674, after climbing by a record 77,499 on Thursday.

  The NASDAQ ended 1.08 percent lower for the week as investors sold shares of high-flying companies including Microsoft Corp and Amazon.com Inc and moved into cyclical sectors.

  Next week, the second-quarter earnings season shifts into high gear with reports expected from corporate heavyweights including Microsoft, Tesla Inc, Intel Corp and Verizon Communications Inc.

  With this year largely written off as a disaster for US corporations because of the virus, investors are looking for information from companies about the potential size and timing of an eventual recovery.

  “The question is what 2021 and 2022 look like, and what can folks glean from the commentary, especially when companies have withdrawn their guidance and made it difficult to get a sense of what their prospects look like,” said Tom Hainlin, a national investment strategist at US Bank Wealth Management.

  The Cboe Volatility Index, known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” ended at 25.68, its lowest closing level since June 5.

  The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.23 percent to end at 26,671.95 points, while the S&P 500 gained 0.28 percent to 3,224.73. The NASDAQ Composite climbed 0.28 percent to 10,503.19.

  Unprecedented stimulus measures and improving economic data have helped the S&P 500 rise to within about 5 percent of its February record high.

  Investors are also hoping for more fiscal support, as a program that offers additional unemployment benefits is set to expire on July 31. The US Congress is to return to Washington on Monday to debate another coronavirus aid bill.

  “Both Republicans and Democrats have a strong incentive to agree upon further pre-election stimulus. It’s not a matter of ‘if’ a stimulus passes, it’s just what the size and content of that package looks like,” UBS Private Wealth Management senior vice president Andrea Bevis said.

  BlackRock Inc, the world’s largest asset manager, rose 3.7 percent after reporting a jump in quarterly profit as investors poured money into its fixed-income funds and cash management services.

  Volume on US exchanges was 9.5 billion shares, compared with the 11.6 billion average for the full session over the past 20 trading days.

  Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.43-to-1 ratio; on the NASDAQ, a 1.50-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

  The S&P 500 posted 39 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the NASDAQ Composite recorded 89 new highs and 11 new lows.
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