Frankfurt, New York In the wake of a jump in the share price of Merck & Co, the Dow Jones Industrial recovered extensively from its previous day’s losses on Friday. The news that the pharmaceutical company is about to break through with a drug against Covid-19, after days of fear of interest rates, once again focused on the hope of a way out of the pandemic.
In the end, the leading index advanced by 1.43 percent to 34,326 points. It got off to a good start in October. On a weekly basis, he was able to reduce his loss, which was driven by concerns about inflation, US budget poker and economic worries due to delivery bottlenecks, to 1.4 percent.
The broader S&P 500 rose 1.15 percent to 4,357 meters. The recovery was somewhat milder for the high-growth tech stocks, which had recently been hit particularly hard by fear of a tighter monetary policy. The Nasdaq 100 selection index, which was shaped by them, rose 0.70 percent to 14,791 points.
The stock exchanges were also slowed down by a warning from ratings agency Fitch that the dispute over raising the debt ceiling could weigh on US creditworthiness. The Congress had agreed on a transitional budget and thus averted a “government shutdown”, the closure of numerous authorities. But if the debt ceiling is not raised, the world’s largest economy threatens to become insolvent in the middle of the month.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
The political bickering doesn’t make a good impression, said Randy Frederick, manager at brokerage firm Charles Schwab. It could discourage foreign investors from buying US Treasuries. “If that happens, the returns would go up sharply. And if the yields go up because people don’t want the bonds, that would have a very negative impact on the market. “
However, the joy of investors about encouraging test results for a Covid drug from Merck & Co could only dampen this slightly. According to the information, the agent reduces the risk of hospitalization or death in the event of an infection by about half.
“It gives people hope that the return to normal will not go off course despite cases of infections in vaccinated people,” said Thomas Hayes, manager at asset manager Great Hill. As a result, shares in the pharmaceutical company rose at times by a good twelve percent to a one and a half year high of $ 84.30.
The Merck drug also fueled speculation that the tourism industry would recover quickly. The shares of the airlines American Airlines, Delta and United rose by up to 7.8 percent. The cruise operators Carnival and Norwegian gained up to five percent. The titles of the online travel agency Booking.com advanced three percent.
On the other hand, manufacturers of Covid vaccines came under the wheels. The shares of Biontech collapsed by ten percent. Development partner Pfizer’s stocks fell one percent. Papers of the rival Moderna crashed by more than twelve percent.
Despite rising inflation, US consumers consumed more than expected in August. Your spending rose 0.8 percent on the previous month, as the US Department of Commerce announced on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected 0.6 percent, after a revised 0.1 percent decline in July. Private consumption is the biggest driver of the US economy.
Investors stocked up on Bitcoin
A few dollar investors cashed in on the foreign exchange market. The dollar index, which reflects the exchange rate against major currencies, remained within striking distance of its most recent twelve-month high at 94.031 points. “As long as the markets remain convinced that the US Federal Reserve will start tightening its monetary policy within a reasonable time frame, the dollar should hold up well,” said Societe Generale investment strategist Kit Juckes.
Investors also bought Bitcoin. The oldest and most important cyber currency rose at times by a good ten percent to $ 47,893. “Investors are warming up for a possible year-end rally,” said analyst Timo Emden from Emden Research.
Institutional investors in particular took advantage of the previous price losses to gain entry. Other stockbrokers also expressed relief that the US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell had emphasized in a congressional hearing that he wanted to regulate cryptocurrencies, but not ban them.
Against this background, investors courageously took hold of stocks from the cryptocurrency sector and companies that deal with the blockchain technology on which Bitcoin & Co is based.
The shares of Coinbase, Riot, Marathon, Overstock and Silvergate on Wall Street rose by up to 4.6 percent. The stocks of the software company MicroStrategy, which has invested billions in Bitcoin, advanced 5.3 percent.
Look at individual values
Lordstown Motors: The automaker has reached an agreement to sell its Ohio plant to Taiwanese company Foxconn for $ 230 million. Foxconn takes over the production of the electric pickups from Lordstown completely. Earlier this week, rumors began to emerge that an agreement between the two sides was imminent. Lordstown papers fell in the course of trading by up to 18 percent.
zoom Video Communications: Zoom and Five9 have mutually agreed to terminate a nearly $ 15 billion deal. The two sides will continue the partnership that existed prior to the proposed transaction. Zoom was up 2.32 percent and Five9 was up 4.71 percent.
Walt Disney: The company has resolved a legal dispute with actress Scarlett Johansson in connection with the film “Black Widow”. Johansson had sued Disney for releasing the film on the streaming service Disney Plus at the same time the film was opening in theaters. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Disney shares are up four percent.
Nio: The company delivered 10,628 vehicles in September, an increase of 126 percent for the China-based manufacturer of electric vehicles compared to the same month last year. Nio shares were 0.73 percent in the red at the close of trading.
More: Over six percent return – Exxon stock is a risky dividend classic