Day Traders Diary

12/11/20

The major averages closed mixed with the S&P 500 wrapping up a losing week, as the outlook for additional fiscal stimulus remained uncertain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 47 points or 0.16%. The S&P 500 closed down just 4 points or 0.13% while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 27 points or 0.23%.

Both the Dow and S&P 500 posted their first weekly declines in three weeks, losing 0.6% and 1%, respectively. The Nasdaq dropped 0.7% this week.

Friday's moves came as negotiations over a coronavirus relief deal dragged on. Lawmakers seek to pass a bill before the end of 2020, but disagreements over state and local stimulus, unemployment assistance and stimulus checks still exist.

Democrats have also pushed back against the White House's latest $916 billion aid offer, noting it doesn't include any additional federal unemployment insurance money. The bill, however, was blessed by GOP congressional leaders.

The House and Senate passed a one-week federal spending extension to avoid a shutdown through Dec. 18 to buy more time to reach a stimulus agreement.

Share of companies hardest hit by the pandemic recession fell on Friday. Carnival dropped 4.5%, United Airlines slipped 2.6%, and Gap lost 3.6%. Hyatt Hotels traded lower by about 1.4%.

Tesla shares, meanwhile, fell 2.7% after a surprise downgrade by Jefferies.

Without fresh stimulus, millions of Americans could lose unemployment benefits in the new year. Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims jumped last week to 853,000, the highest total since Sept. 19, as new lockdown restrictions weighed on businesses amid rising coronavirus cases.

Sentiment was downbeat on Friday even as a key Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended the approval of Pfizer and BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine for emergency use. The recommendation marked the last step before the FDA gives the final approval to broadly distribute the first doses throughout the U.S.

Bucking the negative trend was Disney. On Thursday, the company said its Disney+ service has 86.8 million subscribers and expects have between 230 million to 260 million subscribers by 2024. The stock rose 13.6% on Friday.

U.S. Treasuries finished with modest gains, pushing yields lower across the curve. The 2-yr yield decreased three basis points to 0.11%, and the 10-yr yield decreased two basis points to 0.89%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.2% to 90.98. WTI crude futures decreased 0.5%, or $0.24, to $46.58/bbl.