The stock closed at record levels for the second day of Friday, with investors assessing expectations of further economic stimulus after a weaker-than-expected US employment report.
A Washington Post report said West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin was opposed to providing Americans with $ 2,000 stimulus checks, creating an obstacle to pressure from President-elect Joe Biden to boost stimulus measures.
Biden promised that greater relief checks would be delivered to the Americans if Democrats won the Senate run-off election in Georgia, which they did earlier this week.
Biden, in a televised speech on Friday, said that a weaker-than-expected US employment report showed the need for more economic stimulus “now”.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended with an increase of 56 points, or 0.18%, to 31,097. The S&P 500 rose 0.55% to 3,824, and the Nasdaq gained 1.03% to 13,201.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also broke intraday records during Friday’s session.
In the week, the industrial Dow rose 1.6%, the S&P 500 rose 1.8% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.4%.
The United States lost 140,000 jobs in December, the first drop in jobs since April, as Covid-19 cases have increased and stricter restrictions have been imposed on people and businesses.
Hiring declined in December amid yet another increase in coronavirus infections. Economists consulted by FactSet had expected the US to create 100,000 jobs in December, although many experts predicted a contraction.
The unemployment rate in December remained at 6.7%.
“In a row: gloomy and unlikely to improve before spring,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
Shepherdson said the employment report tells a “story consistent with Covid’s rise in cases in recent months and the restrictions imposed on trying to contain the pandemic.” He noted that leisure and hospitality jobs fell 498,000 in December.
Boeing (BA) – Get report the shares fell 1.3% to $ 210 after the jet maker agreed to pay a $ 2.5 billion fine for fraud and conspiracy related to the 737 MAX jet program.
A new study suggested the vaccine developed by Pfizer (PFE) – Get report and BioNTech (BNTX) – Get report could offer protection against mutations found in new variants of rapid spread of coronavirus discovered in the UK and South Africa.
The report, led by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch and supported by Pfizer and BioNTech, found that vaccine receptor antibodies successfully defended the virus on laboratory plates. The study has not yet been reviewed by experts.
Deaths in the United States from coronavirus were 367,635, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States reported on Thursday a daily record of more than 4,000 deaths.