In this Nov. 16, 2020 file photo a man wearing a mask passes the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Stocks are opening moderately lower on Wall Street, edging below the record highs they set a day earlier. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% shortly after the opening bell Wednesday, Dec. 2. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
By Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga
Stocks shook off a sluggish start to finish with modest gains Wednesday, nudging the S&P 500 index to an all-time high for the second straight day.
The benchmark index rose 0.2% after spending much of the day drifting between small gains and losses. About 54% of the stocks in the index rose, with communications, financial and health care companies driving the bulk of the gains. A pullback in technology stocks, companies that rely on consumer spending and elsewhere kept the market's gains in check.
Treasury yields continued to head mostly higher, a sign of growing confidence in the outlook for the economy. That confidence has also been pushing stocks higher in recent weeks as traders hope coronavirus vaccines will start driving a stronger economic recovery. Investors were not deterred by new data Wednesday showing that hiring by U.S. companies slowed last month.
“The biggest thing about the market that we’ve seen the last couple of weeks is (investors) keep trying to sell it, and it still hangs in there,” said J.J. Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade.
The S&P 500 rose 6.56 points to 3,669.01. The index is now up about 13.6% for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 59.87 points, or 0.2%, to 29,883.79. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite, which also opened the month with a new record, slipped 5.74 points, or 0.1%, to 12,349.37.
Stocks have been ramping higher in recent weeks as drugmakers make steady progress in developing coronavirus vaccines. The rollout of a vaccine in the U.S. could begin this month, if regulators give their approval.
Pfizer shares rose 3.5% after the drugmaker and BioNTech said they won permission for emergency use of their COVID-19 vaccine in Britain. The vaccine is the world’s first coronavirus shot that’s backed by rigorous science and a major step toward eventually ending the pandemic. The move makes Britain one of the first countries to begin vaccinating its population against the virus. The companies have already asked for approval to begin vaccinations in the U.S. in December.
Moderna is also asking U.S. and European regulators to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine. Its shares rose 1.4%.
Optimism about vaccine developments have tempered lingering concerns over rising virus cases in the U.S., though worries persist about the economic fallout from new government restrictions on businesses aimed at limiting the spread.
“My farther-out fear for the market is once this vaccine starts to roll out, will it be able to meet these amazing expectations people have for everything getting back to normal?” Kinahan said.
Unemployment remains high as the COVID-19 outbreak widens the gulf between average people and the wealthiest Americans. Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that its latest survey of private U.S. employers shows they added 307,000 jobs last month. That fell short of Wall Street analysts’ expectations for a gain of 405,000 jobs, according to FactSet.
The report precedes a broader jobs survey from the Labor Department due out Friday. Economists are forecasting that will show employers added about 441,000 jobs in November, down from a gain of 638,000 in October.
Meanwhile, traders are holding out hope that Democrats and Republicans may reach a deal on some amount of economic stimulus for the economy before 2021, though the parties remain divided on the details and the cost.
The Federal Reserve's latest survey of business conditions around the U.S. found economic activity has slowed in some parts of the country as amid a surge in new coronavirus cases. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told lawmakers during a House Financial Services Committee hearing that Congress needs to approve COVID-19 relief funds without further delay.
However, it's looks like most lawmakers are willing to wait until after President-elect Joe Biden takes office, said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird.
“The problem is, by that point you’re going to have six to 10 more weeks of economic damage,” he said.
Technology stocks, which have been leading the market higher since the pandemic started wreaking havoc on the global economy, helped limit the market's gains Wednesday. Salesforce.com was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500, tumbling 8.5%, after announcing a deal late Tuesday to buy messaging platform Slack for $27.7 billion. Microsoft slipped 0.4%.
Lyft climbed 9.6% after the ride-hailing company posted a smaller loss this quarter and better margins. The news helped boost rival Uber Technologies up 7%.
Treasury yields headed higher, giving banks a boost because they allow them to charge more lucrative interest rates on loans. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 0.96% from 0.92% late Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase rose 1.9% and Citigroup gained 3.1%.
Germany's DAX shed 0.5% and France's CAC 40 was flat. In Britain, the FTSE 100 rose 1.2%. Markets in Asia were mixed.
Wendy O, host of 'The O Show' joins Cheddar News to discuss the recent rally from cryptocurrency, Ether. She also discussed incoming New York City mayor Eric Adams wanting to teach kids crypto in schools.
Professional sports is facing a reckoning right now over several stories painting an ugly picture of a toxic work environment, encompassing multiple teams in multiple leagues and dealing with different issues.
This week, the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks ousted their general manager and senior director of hockey operations after an investigation confirmed former player Kyle Beach's claims that the team's former video coach Brad Aldrich sexual assaulted him back in 2010, with upper management ignoring his claims until after the team won the Stanley Cup that season. Last night, Joel Quenneville, now the coach of the Florida Panthers but Chicago's coach that season, stepped down from his post.
This comes just a few weeks after the NFL was rocked by leaked emails showing now-former Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach Jon Gruden using racist, sexist and homophobic language. He resigned soon after the emails came to light. We can't forget, though, that those emails come from a much broader investigation of the toxic work environment in the offices of the Washington Football Team. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this week the league wouldn't publicly release anything from its investigation of the team, but lawyers for many of the women interviewed in the case say they want a public report.
And last January, just one month after hiring him, the New York Mets had to fire then-General manager Jared Porter, who admitted to sending explicit, unsolicited texts and images to a female reporter in 2016 when he worked for the Chicago Cubs. ESPN had been in possession of the texts since 2017, but the woman in question asked the network not to run the story out of fear her career would be harmed. She only reached back out to ESPN after she left the field of journalism altogether. Porter has been banned from the sport through next season.
If you believe in the phrase "where there's smoke, there's fire," professional sports is a five-alarm blaze.
Julie DiCaro, senior writer and editor at Deadspin, joins None of the Above to discuss.
Curaleaf CEO Joe Bayern joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to discuss the cannabis company's Q3 earnings report, which came in under expectations and included widening losses. Bayern discussed taking a hit on profitability based on the slower-than-expected expansion in some Northeast markets. While the company reduced its fiscal guidance for 2021 due to a general slowing of the cannabis market, he did note that he still sees much room for growth in 2022 and beyond.
Online consignment and thrift shop thredUP reported a Q3 earnings beat on Monday, and CEO James Reinhart joined Cheddar to discuss exceeding expectations and the state of the business overall. Reinhart said the company is thriving while other businesses may face supply chain issues due to the convenience of its system of acquiring secondhand clothing. "In a world where most consumers are feeling squeezed by prices and seeing apparel shortages, everything we have on thredUP is 100 percent in stock and ready to ship," he said. "And so I think it speaks to real opportunity for resale and a company like thredUP during the holiday season and into 2022."
Former NBA star, commentator, and entrepreneur Baron Davis and Deluxe Corporation Chief Brand Officer Amanda Brinkman, joined Cheddar to discuss Season 6 of the reality show "Small Business Revolution," premiering Tuesday. The season will focus on helping six Black-owned businesses in the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul. Davis noted learning about the lack of resources, connections, and opportunities for Black business owners during the show. "There are so many things we need to do as a society to address racial injustice and inequity, however, one of the ways for it is economic empowerment," Brinkman added.
Katia Beauchamp, strategic advisor for FemTec Health and former Birchbox CEO, joined Cheddar to discuss the health and beauty sciences company's recent acquisition of subscription beauty supply provider Birchbox. She noted that FemTec wants to change the perception of the brand to include health as well as beauty. "This is something where we are reimagining how can we help consumers discover beauty products that really help them take great care of themselves, have beautiful underlying health that is shown on the exterior too," she added.
Cryptocurrencies are getting off to a good week. Ethereum surged more than 4% in 24 hours on Monday, hitting a new all-time high above $4,700. Meanwhile, Bitcoin surged 7% to a price of $66,250. Haohan Xu, founder and CEO of Apifiny, joins Cheddar News with thoughts on the growing sector.
The latest Marvel movie hit theaters with one of the biggest opening weekends of the year. 'Eternals' opened over the weekend with an estimated $71 million, the fourth-best domestic debut this year. Erik Davis, managing editor at Fandango, joins Cheddar News to talk about the state of box office sales.
Ryan Lupberger, Sustainability Pioneer and CEO of Cleancult, joins 'Cheddar Reveals' to break down how Cleancult is redefining cleaning products and solutions to reduce their impact on the planet.
