S&P 500 record high | Congress tries again to reach stimulus deal | Salesforce drops on Slack deal

WED, DEC 02, 2020

EVENING BRIEF

AS OF WED, DEC 02, 2020 • 04:35 ET

DJIA		29883.79
		+0.20%	+59.87

S&P 500		3669.01
		+0.18%	+6.56

NASDAQ		12349.37
		-0.05%	-5.74

Most Active

DOW
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	123.08	+0.36	+0.29%
CRM	220.78	-20.57	-8.52%
INTC	49.90	+0.34	+0.69%

S&P 500
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	123.08	+0.36	+0.29%
PFE	40.80	+1.39	+3.53%
GE	10.43	+0.28	+2.76%

NASDAQ
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	123.08	+0.36	+0.29%
AMD	93.74	+1.11	+1.20%
MRNA	143.00	+1.99	+1.41%

EDITOR'S NOTE

The S&P 500 eked out a small gain on Wednesday to post another record high as traders looked for clarity on a new potential fiscal aid package.

The broad market index advanced 0.2% along with the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Nasdaq Composite underperformed, falling 0.05%. Wednesday marked the second straight session in which the S&P 500 closed at an all-time high.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement Wednesday that the bipartisan bill unveiled on Tuesday should be used as "basis for immediate bipartisan, bicameral negotiations." That statement gave the market a small boost late in the day. On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected the $908 billion proposal aimed at breaking the stalemate over new stimulus in Congress.

Yousef Abbasi, global market strategist at StoneX, noted that "the potential for fiscal stimulus in the lame duck session does appear to be on the rise, but any package that will be considered will likely be significantly smaller than the $1 trillion that had been talked about prior to the election."

Looking ahead, Ned Davis Research's Ed Clissold thinks the market will stay on its recent upward trend through the first part of 2021. After that, however, stocks could struggle for additional gains.

"A corollary to our model focus is that more important than the yearend target is risks increase in the second half. The massive 2020 stimuli will wear off, especially if President-elect Biden's plans fail in Congress, and the bull market will mature," Clissold, the firm's chief U.S. strategist, wrote in a note.

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