In public health news, the U.S. averaged 136,438 new cases a day in the past week, down 30% from the average two weeks ago. Hospitalizations have also been falling, according to the COVID Tracking Project. There were 91,440 COVID-19 patients in U.S. hospitals on Wednesday, down from 92,880 a day earlier and the lowest level since Nov. 27.
*Against that backdrop, investors are also awaiting the next steps on a new fiscal relief package. President Joe Biden said he was open to sending $1,400 payments to a smaller group of Americans in the next round of coronavirus aid and changing the overall price tag of his $1.9 trillion plan, The Wall Street Journal reported. Democrats in the U.S. Senate were poised to take a first step toward the ultimate passage of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal. Republicans have countered with a more modest $618 billion package, which includes new stimulus checks of $1,000 per person.*
*Also on investors’ radar was a meeting of financial regulators, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, to discuss the market volatility related to GameStop Corp. (-42.1%) and AMC Entertainment Holdings (-21%) and other so-called meme stocks. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said that she and financial market regulators needed to “understand deeply” what happened in the recent retail trading frenzy before taking any action.*
*In other economic reports, U.S. productivity dropped to a 4.8% annual rate in the fourth quarter. Separately, U.S. factory orders for manufactured goods rose 1.1% in December after a 1.3% gain in the prior month, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal were expecting a 0.7% gain.*
*Many on Wall Street remain optimistic that the vaccine rollout, coupled with easy monetary policy and potentially more fiscal support, will sprout stronger growth in earnings and drive the market to new highs. “We believe that we are still in the early stages of a new bull market, transitioning from the ‘hope’ phase to a longer ‘growth’ phase as strong profit growth emerges”, said a strategist from Goldman Sachs.*
Volume was down versus last week’s levels. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 14.09 billion shares on Thursday, compared with the 15.5 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
European stocks closed mixed on Thursday as investors remained focused on earnings reports and developments on the coronavirus pandemic.
*The Bank of England on Thursday left monetary policy unchanged following its first meeting of 2021, with its main lending rate held at 0.1% and target stock of asset purchases kept at £895 billion ($1.2 trillion).*
The Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority also said in a letter to lenders that British banks will need at least six months to prepare for a potential shift to negative interest rates.
*Bayer* shares climbed 5% after the German pharmaceutical giant reached a $2 billion deal to settle future compensation claims in the U.S. over cancers linked to its Roundup weedkiller.
At the bottom of the European blue chip index, consumer goods group *Unilever* fell 6% after full-year results.
*Currencies*
• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4%.
• The euro dipped 0.6% to $1.1965.
• The Japanese yen depreciated 0.5% to 105.54 per dollar.
*Bonds*
• The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose less than one basis point to 1.14%.
• Germany’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to -0.45%.
• Britain’s 10-year yield jumped seven basis points to 0.44%.
*Commodities*
• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.2% to $56.35 a barrel.
• Gold slid 2.2% to $1,794.01 an ounce.
Silver sank 2% to $26.36 per ounce
By: via @AlliesFin Serve Stock Market
