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BMO Capital Markets chief investment strategist Brian Belski argues investors should not be selling Big Tech stocks at this time.
U.S. equity futures are trading lower after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Federal Reserve’s major pandemic loan programs will expire on December 31.
Major futures indexes suggest a 0.5% drop when the Friday trading session begins on Wall Street.
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In a letter to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, Mnuchin said the $ 455 billion allocated to the Treasury under the CARES Act last spring, much of which was earmarked to support Fed loans to businesses , nonprofits and local governments, should instead be available for Congress to reassign them.
MNUCHIN LAUNCHES A CONNECTION TO CERTAIN PANDEMIC LOAN PROGRAMS THAT THE FED CONSIDERS ESSENTIAL
Washington Democrats and Republicans, meanwhile, are still stuck in their attempts to provide another dose of financial support for workers and businesses. It has the specter of a dark winter looming for both the health care system and the economy.
Asian stocks were mixed in muted trading on Friday after Wall Street made modest gains in a tug-of-war between concerns about the worsening pandemic in the present and optimism that a vaccine will save the world. economy in the future.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark lost 0.4%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.4% and China’s Shanghai Composite rose nearly 0.4%.
In Europe, London’s FTSE rose 0.4%, Germany’s DAX by 0.2% and France’s CAC by 0.4%.
On Thursday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% after spending much of the day swinging between small losses and gains. The benchmark was coming off a 1.2% drop from the previous day, pushing it away from its high of 3,626.91 set on Monday. The late afternoon wave of buying wiped out almost all of the S&P 500’s losses for the week.
Tech companies were a big contributor to the rebound. Businesses that rely on consumer spending and communications stocks have also helped drive the market up, offsetting losses in the utilities and healthcare sectors. Yields on Treasuries fell, a sign of caution in the market.
| Teleprinter | security | Latest | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I: DJI | MEDIUM DOW JONES | 29483.23 | +44.81 | + 0.15% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3581.87 | +14.08 | + 0.39% |
| I: COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 11904.713966 | +103.11 | + 0.87% |
The S&P 500 gained 14.08 points to 3,581.87. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 44.81 points, or 0.2%, to 29,483.23. The index had fallen by 210 points. The highly technical Nasdaq composite climbed 103.11 points, or 0.9%, to 11,904.71.
The huge November rally on Wall Street has slowed this week as fears over the near-term booming economy collide with hopes that stronger growth will come next year once vaccines work against coronaviruses will be available. A disheartening report on Thursday highlighted the fears, showing that more American workers filed for unemployment benefits last week than the week before. It was a worse figure than economists expected and the first increase in five weeks.
With infections and hospitalizations on the rise across much of the country, governors and mayors are reluctantly issuing mask warrants, limiting the size of gatherings, banning dining at indoor restaurants, closing gyms and restricting the hours and capacity of other businesses.
To counteract all these fears, it is hoped that upcoming vaccines can control the pandemic and bring the global economy back to normal next year.
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In energy trading, benchmark US crude gained 14 cents to $ 41.88 a barrel. Brent, the international standard, gained 19 cents to $ 44.39 a barrel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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