An early rally faded into the red before climbing into the close as volatility remained the biggest constant on Wall Street heading into the weekend, plus more in today’s Closing Bell on Money & Markets.
Big Early Rally Fades, Rises Into Close
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose as much as 800 points early Friday before falling 908 points from the peak, only to finish up 477 points for the day. Stocks hit heavily during Thursday’s rout, like Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL), helped push the index higher as bargain shoppers sought sales.
The S&P 500 closed out its worst week in three months after cratering nearly 6% on Thursday alone, its biggest daily dip since the middle of March.
The fall came after a particularly bearish press conference by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday, when he said the country’s benchmark interest rate will remain at or near zero for another two years.
That signals the central bank expects the economy will not recover anytime soon. The market crash also occurred in part due to a rise in coronavirus infections across the country, including daily and weekly highs in states like Texas, Florida and California.
“(Thursday) was a massive down day… so I think short-term investors probably came in today looking for a bounce,” said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird in Milwaukee.
The Nasdaq officially pulled out of a bear market when it began to rise from its lows on March 23, closing the week on another high note, though still around 500 points below its record high.
Stock Market Update: Closing Bell*
S&P 500: 3,041 (+1.31%)
DOW: 25,605 (+1.90%)
NASDAQ: 9,588 (+1.01%)
RUSSELL: 1,378 (+1.63%)
GOLD: $1,737.70 (-0.12%)
BITCOIN: $9,425.41 (+1.96%)
U.S. 10-YEAR YIELD: 0.707%
*- as of 3:40 p.m.
Golden Nuggets
Gold prices gained Friday as investors sought a traditional safe haven amid the volatility wrought by the Fed’s bearish tone set Wednesday, as well as an uptick in coronavirus cases in the U.S. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,731.80 an ounce by 4:01 p.m. EDT, jumping about 2.8% this week, the biggest weekly gain since the week of April 10.
“Despite the tentative stock market rebound this morning, we’re seeing gold prices climb because there’s still steady safe-haven demand by institutional traders,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at broker OANDA.
As testing becomes more regular, we should see a spike in COVID-19 cases, but a far more alarming trend is a rise in hospitalizations.
“This is not a second wave. This is just the virus working its way throughout the country and you’re going to see that derail a lot of the reopening plans across the country, which means slower economic activity — that should support gold prices,” Moya added.
Fed Report: ‘Persistent Fragilities’ Ahead for Households and Businesses
The Federal Reserve expects household finances and business balance sheets to suffer “persistent fragilities” as a result of the shock to economic activity arising from the coronavirus pandemic, the central bank said in a report to Congress on Friday.
In its twice-yearly Monetary Policy Report to U.S. lawmakers, the Fed also set out a litany of risks they see dogging any rebound from the cratering in output caused by widespread shutdowns imposed this spring to contain the spread of COVID-19.
“The strains on household and business balance sheets from the economic and financial shocks since March will likely create persistent fragilities,” the report said.
Today’s Big Winners
S&P 500: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) +18.8%
Nasdaq: United Airlines Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: UAL) +19%
Dow: Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) +11.5%
Today’s Big Losers
S&P 500: PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH) -5.9%
Nasdaq: Lululemon Athletica Inc. (Nasdaq: LULU) -3.8%
Dow: Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) -2%
Check back for the most important news and numbers each day after the Closing Bell, only on Money & Markets.
Reuters contributed to this report.