Markets rise to end wild week
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Covid cases around the world continue to rise, but stocks bounced back Friday after recent selling. The session closed a wild, euphoric week that pitted a recovery rally against a lockdown pushback. Friday’s session actually saw both kinds of stock rising at once as all the major American indices grained traction into the close. The S&P and Dow both finished over 1.3% while the Nasdaq advanced 1%.
All the Dow components were in green, from industrials (Boeing up 5.88%) to financials (American Express 3.5%) to energy (Chevron 2.93%). Among consumer names, Disney reported a Q4 loss as Covid impacted its theme parks, though Disney+ numbers were healthy. The latter helped pushed Mickey’s stock up 2.1%. Meanwhile in tech, Cisco beat Q1 estimates in its latest earnings and catapulted 7%. Even travel names enjoyed a lift as Delta Air Lines rose 6% and Carnival jumped 7.23%. For the week, the Nasdaq slipped 66 points while the Dow gained 4%. In other words, tech stocks (the Covid trade) held on as the recovery rally gained momentum following the one-two punch of the Joe Biden election victory and the Pfizer vaccine announcement that propelled the week. Another sign was the Russell 2000 of small-caps popping 2% on Friday.
The TSX faded slightly into the close, but still came out ahead 0.56% Friday and 2.4% for the week. Tech, industrials and energy lifted the Toronto index, despite the price of WCS tumbling 2.8% and WTI falling 2.3%. Up 4.28%, Cenovus was among the many oil stocks that finished the week in the green. American-based Charlotte’s Web Holdings surged 11% after reporting its Q3 and riding the wave of the pro-cannabis Biden victory. AutoCanada also reported a winning Q3 report and leapt 10.59%. Cineplex was upfront about the impact of Covid in its forecast and earnings, and announced creditor relief. Investors rewarded the cinema chain with a 3.77% increase.
🛫 Boeing +5.88%
💳 American Express +3.5%
🛢 Chevron Texaco +2.93%
👸 Walt Disney +2.1%
📱 Cisco +7%
🛫 Delta Air Lines Inc +6%
🚢 Carnival Corp. +7.23%
🛢 Cenovus Energy +4.28%
🌿 Charlotte’s Web +11%
🚗 AutoCanada Inc. +10.59%
🎞 Cineplex Inc +3.77%
