The news from the Corona front is getting darker and darker in the United States – but there is little evidence of this on the stock exchange. The three major indices Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended the week with a clear plus.
The US exchanges showed premiums at the end of the trading week. After technology stocks were in demand most recently, they now lagged behind. The indices continued to operate in a volatile market environment. Of the Dow Jones index gained 1.4 percent to 26,075 points during the S&P 500 closed 1.1 percent higher. For the Nasdaq composite it went up by 0.7 percent. There were a total of 2,284 (Thursday: 787) course winners and 710 (2,195) losers. 62 (70) titles closed unchanged.
The corona crisis remained the dominant issue on the international financial markets and thus also in the USA. There, the number of new infections reached a new record level on Thursday. However, investors pushed corona concerns aside at the end of the week and relied on global stimulus to boost the global economy. The sentiment was also supported by reports of advances in drug development against Covid-19.
Biontech is supported by vaccine hopes
A vaccine against Covid-19 is still a long way off, but there is progress in development. So expected Biontechthat along with Pfizer developed a corona vaccine to be able to apply for approval by the end of the year. Around 300 million doses could be produced before the vaccine was approved and over one billion by the end of 2021, co-founder and CEO Ugur Sahin told the Wall Street Journal. Biontech rose 7.2 percent, Pfizer advanced 1.1 percent.
There is also hope that the disease caused by the virus Covid-19 will soon be better treated. The drug Remdesivir from Gilead Science has proven itself in clinical studies according to the company. Gilead said that the risk of death for the affected patients was reduced by 62 percent due to the use of remdesivir. Gilead stock increased 2.2 percent.
The share of Netflix jumped 8.1 percent up to $ 548.73. At $ 555.88, it had hit a record high. The share was supported by a positive analyst comment. Jefferies' Alex Giaimo had polled the streaming provider's subscribers and found that customers preferred Netflix to other providers because of the program they produced. This would allow Netflix to limit the churn rate and control spending on program content.
Motorcycle manufacturers Harley Davidson announced the reduction of 700 jobs or 13 percent of the workforce. The corona crisis is affecting the company. The share price rose 2.5 percent. At the retailer Express, on the other hand, business with the reopening of branches is gradually starting up again. The stock rose 2.0 percent.
Won the Dow Raytheon 2.6 percent. Vertical Research Partners analysts upgraded the defense and aviation company's stock to "Buy" from "Hold".
The biopharmaceutical company Nkarta made his debut on the Nasdaq. The issue price for the share was $ 18 per share. It started trading at $ 54.75 and hit its daily high at $ 58.69. The stock closed at $ 47.90. The San Francisco-based company had increased the volume of the IPO to 13 million shares on Thursday at an expected price of $ 16 to $ 17 per share. Previously, it was planned to offer only 10 million shares at $ 14 to $ 16 each.
The economic data agenda was clear. Only the June producer prices were released, which fell contrary to expectations. Prices fell 0.2 percent overall in the past month, or 0.3 percent in the core rate. Economists had expected an overall increase of 0.4 percent and 0.1 percent in the core rate.
Gold price is coming back
With the increased risk appetite among investors, the demand for supposedly safe investments decreased. The yield on the bond market rose by ten years US bonds with falling prices 2.5 basis points to 0.63 percent. The gold price also came back. The troy ounce price fell 0.2 percent to $ 1,799.
At the Oil market prices rose supported by hopes of an early economic recovery. According to a report by the International Energy Agency, the worst effects of the corona pandemic on global oil demand are over, but the aftermath is likely to continue in the second half of the year if the market slowly recovers. The price of a barrel of US crude oil of the variety WTI rose 2.2 percent to $ 40.51. Brent oil increased 2.0 percent to $ 43.18.
The currency market showed that dollar a little weaker. The dollar index fell 0.1 percent. Of the Euro quoted at $ 1.1303 versus 1.1269 on Friday morning. In the medium term, the common currency could become a haven of stability, said Commerzbank. The experts believe it is likely that a compromise on the EU reconstruction plan will be found under Germany's EU Council Presidency in the coming months. Then the "internal turmoil" in the EU would no longer be an issue for the market and therefore not a burden for the euro. The many support measures by governments in Europe for their economies should also gradually take hold and strengthen investor confidence in the euro.
In contrast, it is likely that in the coming weeks and months it will be the United States that has appeared increasingly torn within the presidential election campaign. In addition, there is an (apparently uncontrollable) course of the corona pandemic in the USA with its serious economic consequences. And finally, the interest rate advantage of the dollar against the euro is only marginal and therefore no longer a big argument in favor of the greenback.
. (tagsToTranslate) Wall Street (t) stock trading