US markets settle mostly in green on Friday

18 Jul 2020 Evaluate

The US markets ended choppy trading session mostly in green on Friday as traders generally remain optimistic about the economic outlook but rising coronavirus cases limited upside. The US reported a record 77,255 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Reflecting the widespread resurgence of the coronavirus, the University of Michigan released a report showing an unexpected deterioration in US consumer sentiment in the month of July. The preliminary report said the consumer sentiment index tumbled to 73.2 in July after jumping to 78.1 in June. The pullback surprised market participants, who had expected the index to inch up to 79.0. With the unexpected decrease, Surveys of Consumers chief economist Richard Curtin noted the index is ‘insignificantly’ above the nearly nine-year low set in April.

The continued rise in COVID-19 cases in the US has been partly offset by optimism over scope for additional fiscal stimulus. The White House and lawmakers face increasing pressure to come up with an additional fiscal stimulus plan ahead of the expiration of supplemental unemployment benefits at the end of July. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve on Friday announced it had expanded its Main Street Lending Program to include nonprofit organizations. In other economic data, US housing starts came in at a 1.19 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in June, the Commerce Department said Friday, a 17% increase from May. Permits for newly-built homes rose 2.1% between May and June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.24 million.

Nasdaq rose 29.36 points or 0.28 percent 10,503.19 and S&P 500 added 9.16 points or 0.28 percent to 3,224.73, while Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 62.76 points or 0.23 percent to 26,671.95.

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