Advertisment
Stocks fell on Friday after President-elect Joe Biden announced details of a $1.9-trillion stimulus plan and major banks released their quarterly results, kicking off the earnings reporting season.
The Dow Jones Industrials collapsed 253.23 points to begin Friday at 31,738.29. Dow Inc, Chevron and Goldman Sachs led the 30-stock average lower.
The S&P 500 dipped 28.97 points to 3,766.57. Energy, financials and materials were the worst-performing sectors in the S&P 500.
The NASDAQ stumbled 87.69 points to 13,024.95.
Biden’s proposal, called the American Rescue Plan, includes increasing the additional federal unemployment payments to $400 per week and extending them through September, direct payments to many Americans of $1,400, and extending the federal moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures through September.
The plan also calls for $350 billion in aid to state and local governments, $70 billion for Covid testing and vaccination programs and raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour.
On Friday, investors got fresh looks at major banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. JPMorgan reported better-than-expected earnings, but the stock fell more than 1%. Wells Fargo and Citigroup also declined 7.3% and 4.5%, respectively, even after posting earnings that beat analyst expectations.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Commerce Department said retail sales fell 0.7% in December. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected sales to remain flat.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury regained lost ground, lowering yields to 1.11% from Thursday’s 1.13%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices handed back 78 cents to $52.79 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices erased $13.30 to $1,838.10 U.S. an ounce.
