"Extremely strong balance season": Disney numbers push Wall Street

Around 90 percent of all companies in the S&P 500 index have presented their figures in the past few weeks. On average, their profits have fallen by almost eight percent – that's not as bad as the slump that analysts had forecast.

Encouraging company balance sheets have drawn investors back to the US stock market. "We're ending an extremely strong financial season with an exclamation mark in the form of impressive numbers from Disney," said investment strategist Ryan Detrick of asset manager LPL. In addition, the success news on the development status of a coronavirus vaccine continued to have an impact.

The outcome of the US election also provided some relief, even if it had been emerging for some time. Major US broadcasters have declared the Democrat Joe Biden the winner in the embattled state of Georgia. At the same time, the broadcasters CNN and ABC declared incumbent Donald Trump the winner in also hotly contested North Carolina. That would decide the races in all states. With Georgia, Biden would have a total of 306 of the 538 voters. For a win, Biden needed at least 270 voters, whom he had already secured last Saturday.

The US standard value index Dow Jones rose 1.4 percent to 29,480 points. On a weekly basis, the index posted an increase of 4.1 percent. The S&P 500 improved 1.4 percent to 3,585 points, marking a new all-time high. The technology-heavy Nasdaq gained similarly. According to the data provider Refinitiv, around 90 percent of all companies in the S&P 500 index have now submitted their figures. On average, quarterly profits will have fallen by almost eight percent. At the beginning of October, analysts had forecast a slump of more than 20 percent.

The exploding number of corona cases continued to give investors headaches, said analyst David Madden from online broker CMC Markets. In cities like Chicago or New York there is a threat of renewed tightening of the restrictions. "Investors should also keep in mind that the potential corona vaccine may not receive approval. And even if it does, it will take time to distribute."

Oil price under pressure, gold in demand

Oil prices have been under pressure, weighed down by data on US crude oil stocks reported Thursday. These had risen surprisingly significantly. In addition, the rising number of corona cases fueled fears that the economic recovery could drag on and the demand for oil will remain low for a correspondingly long time. The price of a barrel of the US WTI variety fell 2.2 percent to $ 40.22, but rose by more than 8 percent in the past week. Brent fell 1.9 percent to $ 42.71.

In return, the "anti-crisis currency" gold rose 0.7 percent to $ 1,888 per troy ounce (31.1 grams). The initial vaccine euphoria was followed by disillusionment, said analyst Xiao Fu of the Bank of China International. "Only a limited number of vaccine doses will be available in the coming months." In addition, there is a risk that the virus will mutate and new active ingredients will have to be developed.

Investors facilitated over Disney and Cisco

Walt Disney shares rose a good two percent. Sales and profits of the entertainment group fell less sharply than feared in the past quarter. A ray of hope is the success of the Disney + streaming service, commented analyst Neil Macker from the research company Morningstar. In addition, the amusement parks remain popular regardless of pandemic-related closings.

Cisco Systems shares rose 7.1 percent, topping the list of winners in the Dow Jones Index. The company's quarterly figures and outlook were slightly better than expected.

Applied Materials gained 4.3 percent. The manufacturer of systems for chip production also exceeded market expectations. "Our future opportunities have never looked as good as they do now," said CEO Gary Dickerson, who was also optimistic after what he claims to have been a record quarter.