Dow rises, S&P ekes out gain
The Dow snapped a three-day losing streak Friday, while the reset of the market was mixed. Vaccine hopes and strong retail sales data enticed investors to go shopping for stocks. But the buying took a defensive tone: Healthcare and utilities stocks led the rally as tech stocks fell.
Boeing and Caterpillar helped drive the Dow up four-tenths percent. The S&P finished flat, and the Nasdaq dipped a third of a percent. Despite Friday’s mixed finish, all three indexes posted gains on the week.
Jackson Square Capital founder and portfolio manager Andrew Graham thinks stocks are too highly priced now:
“We need pullbacks. We think we’re going to get them over the next three weeks. Maybe going into the election, there’ll be some nervousness or what have you.”
Pfizer said it could file for U.S. authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine it’s developing with Germany’s BioNTech as early as late November. The announcement lifted shares of both stocks.
Transportation stocks - often seen as a leading market indicator - fell. Railroad operator Kansas City Southern’s quarterly revenue missed analysts estimates as shipment volumes fell, and logistics company J.B. Hunt Transport Services fell short of Wall Street’s profit targets.
Among the big guns reporting earnings next week following this week’s mixed bag: Netflix, the video streaming company that has benefited from stay-at-home demand.
