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US markets edged higher on Friday, March 26, 2021, to close the week on a positive note as investors hedged their bets on economy-linked stocks such as energy, real estate, healthcare, consumer cyclical, and financial stocks.
The S&P 500 rose 1.66 percent to 3974.54. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.39 percent to 33072.88. The NASDAQ Composite Index gained 1.24 percent to 13138.72 while the small-cap Russell 2000 rose 1.76 percent to 2221.48.
Investors were willing to bet on value stocks as expectations of a higher economic growth lifted their confidence. The Federal Reserve has forecast a strong economic rebound by next year as the latest US$1.9 trillion stimulus package is likely to influence growth.
The central bank has announced plans to lift temporary restrictions on bank holding company dividends and share repurchases after June 30 following results of upcoming stress tests. The board had put a temporary limit last year because of the economic uncertainty created by the coronavirus outbreak.
Share workspace provider WeWork said on Friday it will merge with special purpose acquisition company BowX Acquisition Corp. to go public. WeWork will raise around US$1.3 billion of cash in a transaction, which values the company at an initial enterprise value of approximately US$9 billion.
READ MORE: WeWork IPO 2021: From SPAC Merger To Debut Date, All You Need To Know
U.S. personal consumption expenditures declined 1 percent in February while personal income dropped 7.1 percent during the month, according to estimates from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In January, personal consumption expenditure and personal income recorded 3.4 percent and 10.1 percent growth respectively.
Meanwhile, ship operators reportedly started rerouting tankers and containers following the blockage in the Suez Canal. Reports said that it would take at least two to three more days to dig Taiwan-based Evergreen Group’s 1,300-foot Ever Given container vessel out of the waterway.
READ MORE: Suez Canal Blockage: Dislodging Ever Given Ship Could Take Up To Weeks
Microsoft Corp. is reportedly in advanced discussions to buy San Francisco-based messaging platform Discord Inc. in a deal that values the startup at US$10 billion or more.
©Kalkine Group 2021.
Top Gainers
Top performers on S&P 500 included Nucor Corp. (8.90%), Applied Materials Inc. (7.45%), KLA Corp. (6.86%) and Lam Research Corp. (6.61%).
Wah Fu Education Group Ltd. (167.09%), Big Rock Partners Acquisition Corp. (36.41%), NextDecade Corp. (31.79%) and Helius Medical Technologies Inc. (30.83%) were the top performers on NASDAQ.
On Dow Jones, Intel Corp. (4.60%), Cisco Systems Inc.(4.08%), Nike Inc. (3.38%) and Amgen Inc. (2.68%) gained the most.
Top Losers
Top laggards on S&P 500 included Discovery Inc. (29.55%), ViacomCBS Inc. (27.31%), Fox Corp. (6.20%), and Tesla Inc. (3.39%).
Discovery Inc. (29.55%), ViacomCBS Inc. (27.31%), Dolphin Entertainment Inc. (25.65%) and Rubius Therapeutics Inc. (22.53%) were among the top losers on NASDAQ.
On Dow Jones, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (0.96%), Boeing Co. (0.94%) and Walt Disney Co. (0.53%) were the laggards.
Image Source: EODHD/Others, S&P 500 YTD price chart, March 26, 2021
Volume Movers
Top volume movers are ViacomCBS Inc. (50.93M), Discovery Inc. (33.11M), iQIYI Inc. (36.99M), Discovery Inc. (33.11M) and Baidu Inc. (32.67M) and Apple Inc. (22.20M).
Futures & Commodities
Gold futures were up 0.36 percent to US$ 1,731.30 per ounce. Silver grew 0.25 percent to US$25.11 per ounce while copper rose 1.74 percent to US$ 8,953.5.
Brent oil futures increased 3.92 percent to US$64.38 and WTI crude gained 3.71 percent to US$60.73 per barrel.
Bond Market
The 30-year Treasury bond yields rose 1.92 percent to 2.379, while the 10-year bond yields were up 3.73 percent to 1.674.
US Dollar Futures Index dropped 0.12 percent to US$92.718.
READ MORE: Oil Prices Retreat Amid Rising Volatility Over Suez Canal Blockage
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