{"id":1931,"date":"2020-08-17T19:04:50","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T19:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wealthface.ca\/blog\/?p=1931"},"modified":"2022-08-17T12:42:02","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T12:42:02","slug":"dow-jones-sp-500-updates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wealthface.com\/blog\/dow-jones-sp-500-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"Dow Slips, S&P 500 Fights to Overtake Record High"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

U.S. stock benchmarks showed a rising trend on Monday afternoon, with the S&P 500 index trading<\/a> near record territory (it struggled to get substantially higher though). All this happened in the midst of a congressional stalemate over fresh stimulus to help Americans and businesses that have been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about the Major Indexes?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.18% traded 0.2% lower at around 27,868. It was weighed lower due to a decline in shares of Boeing Co. BA, -2.78% and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS, -2.11%. The S&P 500 index SPX, traded 0.39% higher and climbed 12 points to reach 3,385, near its record closing peak at 3,386.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP,  also performed well and gained 1.07%. Over the week, the Dow gained 1.8% while the S&P 500 booked a weekly gain of 0.6%. Nasdaq was able to barely turn positive as a result of Friday\u2019s gains, up a mere 0.1%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s driving the market?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stocks on the market struggled mightily to shoot substantially higher on Monday afternoon. Strategists have opined that a broader market rally outside of high-flying technology stocks will be required for the S&P 500 to make a sustained push above its prior record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As per Joe Quinlan, head of CIO market strategy at Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank: \u201cToday we\u2019re still looking at this headwind around another fiscal package being passed, and some skepticism about that getting done. But the key is breadth. We want to see that improve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Hackett, who heads investment research at Nationwide, said this: \u201cWhile the S&P 500 is within 1% of the all-time high from February, several attempts last week to break through to a new high failed. With earnings season largely over and fiscal stimulus unlikely for at least a month, markets lack a catalyst to help markets overcome technical resistance.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You May Like: Best Vanguard Funds to invest on<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Failed negotiations between the Republicans and the Democrats about advancing a new package of aid to help laborers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic after $600 a week in unemployment assistance were halted at the end of last month have led to the moves in the equity market. Hackett went on to add: \u201cWhile aid for state and local governments and enhanced unemployment aid remain the most contentious issues, funding for the USPS ahead of mail-in voting has emerged as a new issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahead of the November 3rd Presidential Elections, the funding of the United States Postal Service (USPS) has become a contentious issue. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that she is going to call the House back into session to address funding for the USPS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many investors have expressed doubts over the chances of a V-shaped, or quick and powerful, recovery being achieved without new support for those out of work, but the market\u2019s tepid climb also suggests that bets are being made that an agreement will be achieved eventually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some relatively good news, the US reported a little over 42,000 coronavirus cases on a Sunday. This was a stark drop from the one week average of 51,523, per New York Times data. With over 5.4 million cases, the US currently has almost 25% of the world\u2019s COVID-19 cases. Hopefully, the numbers will continue to fall in the coming days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the COVID-19 epidemic, the Prime Minister of New Zealand had been praised relentlessly for her work towards containing the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there has been a fresh outbreak in Auckland and the country\u2019s elections have been postponed by a month. US President Donald Trump had floated a similar idea but he was met with a furious response from the left. The development in New Zealand might have an impact on how the left feels about President Trump\u2019s idea now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In economic reports, a reading on business conditions in the New York area, the Empire State index, saw a drop of 13.5 points to 3.7 in August. It signalled a slower growth pace, as per the regional Fed bank. According to a survey conducted by Econoday, Economists had expected a reading of 17. However, the index had surged in July after being down since the start of the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other news, a report on home-builder confidence was much stronger than expected. It came out a little earlier than expected on Monday than the scheduled 10 AM Eastern release. Builder confidence in the newly built, single-family home market saw an increase of six points to 78 (as per the National Association of Home Builders\/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index). The reading reached the highest level on record. This is a massive improvement from the builder sentiment which had plunged to 30 in the month of April. Generally, a reading above 50 is considered to be upbeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stocks in Focus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n