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question is what 2021 and 2022 look like, and what can folks glean from the commentary, especially when companies have withdrawn their guidance and made it difficult to get a sense of what their prospects look like,” said Tom Hainlin, a national investment strategist at US Bank Wealth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.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
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