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U.S. stock markets hit record highs on Friday morning after the Senate paved the way for President Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package and the jobs report showed a drop in the rate unemployment.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I: DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGE | 31223.64 | +167.78 | + 0.54% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3889.13 | +17.39 | + 0.45% |
| I: COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 13809.013954 | +31.27 | + 0.23% |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 170 points, or 0.55%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.48% and 0.29%, respectively. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were being traded in record territory, while the Dow was just below its peak.
Also lending to stock support, a boost in West Texas Intermediate oil prices, which reached $ 57 a barrel on Friday, boosted energy stocks.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USE | UNITED STATES OIL FUND LP | 38.22 | +0.41 | + 1.08% |
| XLE | ENERGY SELECT SECTOR SPDR ETF | 42.91 | +0.71 | + 1.68% |
Inventories increased despite a boring job report, with the addition of 49,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate fell to 6.3%, according to the Department of Labor. Wall Street analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected 50,000 jobs to be added with the unemployment rate remaining at 6.7%.
In Washington, the upper house of Congress on Friday morning voted 51-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie, to adopt a budget resolution for coronavirus relief. The vote paves the way for a bill to be passed using budgetary reconciliation rules that would allow Democrats to avoid Republican obstruction.
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In stocks, GameStop Corp., AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and others were suspended after Robinhood Markets Inc. lifted all trade restrictions that had been implemented amid increased volatility. GameStop’s shares fell 84% this week through Thursday, while AMC’s shares fell 47%.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GME | GAMESTOP CORP | 70.32 | +16.96 | + 31.79% |
| AMC | AMC ENTERTAINMENT HOLDINGS INC | 7.23 | +0.14 | + 1.96% |
| BBBY | BED BATH & BEYOND INC. | 27.14 | +0.13 | + 0.48% |
| BB | BLACKBERRY LIMITED | 12.60 | +0.43 | + 3.53% |
Elsewhere, Chevron Corp. made an offer to buy the remaining shares of Noble Midstream LP that it did not yet own for $ 12.47 each, the same closing level as Thursday. The deal, which must be approved by Noble’s board, values the company at $ 1.13 billion.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVX | CHEVRON CORP. | 89.70 | +0.64 | + 0.72% |
| XOM | EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION | 50.00 | +1.68 | + 3.48% |
In earnings, Ford Motor Co. lost $ 2.8 billion in the three months to December, as an airbag recall and the idle production of its F-150 pickup weighed on the company’s results. The Detroit-based automaker said that by 2025 it would spend $ 22 billion on electric vehicles and another $ 7 billion to develop autonomous vehicles.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 11.57 | +0.20 | + 1.71% |
Peloton Interactive Inc. reported record quarterly revenue and increased its forecast for the entire year, but warned that recent updates to its supply chain would have a short-term impact on margins.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PTON | INTERACTIVE SQUAD | 143.14 | -14.39 | -9.13% |
Snap Inc. said its number of daily active users increased by 22% over the previous year, but warned that the Capitol disturbances and Apple’s privacy changes to its operating system would weigh on the results for the current quarter.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNAP | SNAP INC. | 59.35 | +1.02 | + 1.75% |
In commodities, gold added $ 4.50 to $ 1,795.70 per ounce.
BITCOIN ROBS FROM GOLD AS PRECIOUS METAL SINKS UNDER $ 1,800
The foreign markets were mainly larger.
France’s CAC 40 was keeping pace with Europe, up 0.98%, while Germany’s DAX 30 had a more modest gain of 0.2% and Britain’s FTSE 100 has changed little.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.54%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.6% and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.16%.