US Stocks extend losses

The US stocks finished mostly lower for second day in row on Friday, 11 December 2020, with Dow Jones Industrial Average clinging gains while the S&P 500 and technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite settled lower as talks on a Covid-19 relief package faced setbacks and fresh business restrictions were unveiled.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index added 47.11 points, or 0.16%, to 30,046.37. The S&P 500 index dropped 4.64 points, or 0.13%, to 3,663.46. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 27.94 points, or 0.23%, to 12,377.87. For the week, the S&P 500 and Dow lost 1% and 0.6%, respectively, meanwhile, the Nasdaq shed 0.7%.

 

The mixed performance on Wall Street came amid slowed stimulus progress. Democrats and Republicans remained gridlocked on dueling stimulus proposals, with main sticking points including liability protections for businesses from COVID-19 related lawsuits and an extension of federal unemployment benefits.

Shares of Pfizer perked up 2% in on Friday as the company's COVID-19 vaccine nears emergency use authorization from the FDA.

Shares of Disney (DIS) jumped 13.5% as the company forecast strong subscriber growth for Disney+ and announced an increase in the price of the streaming service.

ECONOMIC NEWS: US Producer Prices Edge Higher In November- US producer prices edged slightly higher in the month of November, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday. The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand inched up by 0.1% in November after climbing by 0.3% in October. The uptick in producer prices was partly due to a jump in energy prices, which surged up by 1.2% in November following a 0.8% increase in October. The report also showed food prices rose by 0.5% in November after spiking by 2.4% in the previous month. Excluding food and energy prices, core producer prices still crept up by 0.1% in November, matching the uptick seen in October. Core prices were expected to increase by 0.2%.

US Consumer Sentiment Improves In December- US consumer sentiment index climbed to 81.4 in December from 76.9 in November, according to a preliminary report released by the University of Michigan on Friday. The report also said the current economic conditions index rose to 91.8 in December from 87.0 in November, while the index of consumer expectations climbed to 74.7 from 70.5.

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