People walk by the New York Stock Exchange, left, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. Stocks are drifting again on Wall Street Friday, Aug. 21, following a mixed set of data on the economy, as a record-breaking but wishy-washy week of trading closes out. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
By Stan Choe and Alex Veiga
Updated 4:54 pm ET
Tech has remained remarkably resilient through the pandemic and continued to churn out big profits as work-from-home and other tech-friendly trends accelerate. Apple, which this week became the first U.S. company to have a market value of more than $2 trillion, rose 5.2 percent.
Big tech stocks, which generally have strong balance sheets and deliver strong growth, will likely continue to be attractive to investors as long as there are questions about economic growth, said Krosby.
"One of the most important factors in this market and for the broadening of the market in order to include those names that have not participated is: You want to see the unemployment landscape heal, and you want to see those initial unemployment claims come down," she said. "That's a major focus for analysts because we're a consumer-led economy. People need jobs in order to consume."
Deere was another big winner after it reported profit for the latest quarter that was double what Wall Street expected. Its shares rose 4.4 percent.
The Federal Reserve is continuing to prop up markets and the economy by keeping interest rates at nearly zero and buying reams of bonds. But stimulus from Congress has lapsed, and Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill continue to haggle.
Investors say the economy and markets need another round of big support from Congress for the recovery to continue.
"Ultimately, it will take some combination of bad data, bad markets and good politics to break the impasse," economist Ethan Harris wrote in a BofA Global Research report. "Meanwhile, every passing week without meaningful legislation lengthens the mini-recession. This is not the kind of August break this economy needs."
Beyond Capitol Hill, investors are also waiting for the latest developments in the rising tensions between the world's two largest economies.
China's Commerce Ministry on Thursday said that Chinese and U.S. trade envoys will hold a meeting by phone "in the near future" to discuss an agreement aimed at resolving their tariff war. No details on timing were given.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped to 0.63 percent from 0.64 percent late Thursday.
In European stock markets, Germany's DAX slipped 0.5 percent. France's CAC 40 fell 0.3 percent, while the FTSE 100 in London lost 0.2 percent.
Earlier, Asian markets closed higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.2 percent, South Korea's Kospi rose 1.3 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.3 percent.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 48 cents to settle at $42.34 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 55 cents to $44.35 per barrel.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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