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Summary
- S&P 500 edged up by 0.47%, Dow Jones was up 0.09%, and NASDAQ rose 0.50%.
- Walt Disney revenues rose by 22% to US$16.2 billion in first quarter of 2021.
- Federal Reserve to carry out stress test on large US banks to check resilience.
US stock markets ended the week with modest gains on Friday after the Biden administration announced that more COVID vaccines are on the way and positive sentiment over the central bank’s efforts to contain any potential risk to the economy.
The S&P 500 edged up by 0.47% to 3934.83. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.09% to 31458.40. The NASDAQ Composite Index rose 0.50% to 14095.47 and the small cap Russell 2000 ticked up 0.14% to 2288.43.
Markets remained optimist through the week as strong earnings reports and an additional trance of government relief packages were rolled out. The week also saw some robust price and volume movements, underscoring investors’ confidence.
The bullish markets were driven by a positive economic outlook and the Federal Reserve’s commitment not to tinker with the interest rates until the economy is fully back on its feet.
President Joe Biden revealed on Friday that the administration is in talks about purchasing additional 200 million doses of COVID vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna to beef up the ongoing inoculations.
Markets were also buoyed by positive sentiments generated by the centra bank’s efforts to protect the US economy from slipping into a recession in the future. The central bank plans to conduct a stress test on major American banks to check their readiness in the face of an emergency.
Walt Disney Co. reported revenue growth of 22% to US$16.2 billion in its first quarter of 2021, despite the weight of the pandemic.
Friday’s session was led energy, industrials, academic & educational services, healthcare, financials technology, real estate, consumer cyclicals and non-cyclicals, basic materials, and utilities stocks.
Image Source: © Lassedesignen | Megapixl.com
Also read: Disney (NYSE:DIS) & Cineplex (TSX:CGX): 2 Active Entertainment Stocks
Top Gainers
Top performers on S&P 500 included Illumina Inc (12.35%), Mohawk Industries Inc (5.85%), Teradyne Inc (5.49%), and Twitter Inc (4.78%). On NASDAQ, top performers were Wunong Net Technology Co Ltd (89.50%), China Liberal Education Holdings Ltd (69.95%), Artelo Biosciences Inc (65.64%), and Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp (45.42%). On Dow Jones, Intel Corp (1.34%), JPMorgan Chase & Co (1.27%), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (1.03%), and American Express Co (0.87%) were among the leaders.
Top Losers
Top laggards on S&P 500 included Newell Brands Inc (-7.72%), DaVita Inc (-7.15%), Digital Realty Trust Inc (-3.80%), and Under Armour Inc (-2.78%). On NASDAQ, Amicus Therapeutics Inc (-32.94%), Collplant Biotechnologies Ltd (-31.88%), Sanara Medtech Inc (-25.02%), and iFresh Inc (-20.91%) were among the top losers. On Dow Jones, Walt Disney Co (-1.61%), Nike Inc (-1.26%), UnitedHealth Group Inc (-1.17%), and Cisco Systems Inc (-1.08%) were among the top laggards.
Image Source: Refinitiv, S&P 500 6-Month price chart, 13 February 2021
Volume Movers
Some of the top volume movers included Sundial Growers Inc (126.81mn), Artelo Biosciences Inc (29.42mn), Tilray Inc (23.95mn), Castor Maritime Inc 19.47mn), Apple Inc (7.99mn), Ford Motor Co (6.61mn), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (5.37mn), and Intel Corp 4.75mn).
Futures & Commodities
Gold futures were down 0.31% to $1,821.25 per ounce, silver was up 1.08% to $27.340 per ounce, while copper was up 0.62% to $3.7950.
Brent oil futures for April delivery were up 2.42% to $62.62 and crude oil WTI futures for March delivery were up 2.44% to $59.66.
Bond Market
The yield on the US 30-year Treasury bond was up 3.27% to 2.009. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond was up 4.05% to 1.205.
US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.03% to 90.442.
Also read: 3 Stocks To Love & Hold This Valentine’s Day
Markets are expected to keep the momentum going when a new trading week starts on Monday.
Several big companies are expected to report quarterly earnings next week, including HSBC Holdings plc., Shopify Inc., Baidu, Inc., and Walmart Inc. Investors would be keen on knowing the performance as they decide where to invest.
Furthermore, the Biden administration is expected to unveil how it intends to distribute the $50 billion approved by the House Small Business Committee in emergency COVID aid this week.
