e House and congressional Democrats remain deadlocked on a new coronavirus aid package.*
A falling trend in the number of new coronavirus infections in the U.S. and optimism over prospects for a vaccine and other COVID-19 treatments have been credited with pushing stocks to new highs, but analysts said equities might struggle to extend the rise without fresh impetus. Some fear that investors are nearing a “euphoria” stage that could herald a near-term pullback.
Carlos Diez, founder and CEO of MarketGrader, agreed with that sentiment. “There’s a lot of euphoria around the large cap names and that gives me a little bit of pause about what might happen in the near term,” Diez told MarketWatch.
Still, he said, “We have one of the biggest tailwinds in the history which is the massive, massive monetary stimulus globally. It’s hard to argue against risk assets when there’s so much liquidity sloshing around. Over the next six to nine months I don’t expect a major downturn.”
Unlike some market participants, Diez doesn’t think another round of fiscal stimulus is needed — or priced in. “I think investors are probably starting to worry a little bit about the fiscal situation and what happens after all this is over.”
*Energy was the biggest percentage loser among S&P 500 sectors, dropping 2.2% as Hurricane Laura bore down on the Texas-Louisiana coastline, posing the largest threat to U.S. energy assets since 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. The coming storm, now a Category 4, prompted crude producers and refiners to shut down their facilities.*
*Apple Inc.* shares rose 1.4% after a price target increase to $600, the highest among Wall Street analysts and a nearly 20% gain from current trading levels.
Shares of *Tesla Inc.* pushed past the $2,150 mark, up 6.4%, after a price target upgrade, to $2,500.
Shares of *Netflix* rose 11.6% higher, near its highest level since July 10 and on track for its best one-day percentage gain since January of 2019.
Shares of *Moderna Inc.* gained 6.4% on Wednesday after a company executive told a government advisory committee that its experimental COVID-19 vaccine had triggered antibodies in elderly patients.
*Hewlett Packard* Enterprise Co. shares rose 3.6% one day after reporting earnings that beat expectations.
Apparel retailer *Nordstrom Inc* tumbled 5.5% following its bigger-than-expected quarterly losses after being forced by mandated lockdowns to shutter its stores.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 8.55 billion shares, compared with the 9.42 billion average over the last 20 trading days.
*Elsewhere, soybean futures climbed to a seven-month high in Chicago after people familiar with the matter said China is set to buy a record amount from America this year.*
*Here are some key events coming up:*
• The U.S. Republican National Convention runs this week.
• The Bank of Korea sets monetary policy and will hold a briefing on Thursday.
• Fed Chair Powell speaks at an event on Thursday.
*Currencies*
• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.2% to 1,169.69, the lowest in more than a week.
• The euro decreased 0.1% to $1.1827.
• The Japanese yen strengthened 0.4% to 106 per dollar, the largest rise in more than a week.
*Bonds*
• The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed one basis point to 0.69%, the highest in more than a week.
• Germany’s 10-year yield increased two basis points to -0.42%, the highest in almost two weeks.
• Britain’s 10-year yield gained four basis points to 0.302%, the highest in 11 weeks.
*Commodities*
• West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.1% to $43.38 a barrel, the highest in almost six months.
• Gold strengthened 1.2% to $1,952.28 an ounce, the highest in more than a week on the biggest climb in more than a week.
• Copper rose 1.2% to $2.99 a pound, the largest advance in a week.
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