Market Snapshot: Stocks edge higher, aim for modest weekly gains, as investors eye potential fiscal stimulus

Through Thursday, the Dow was on track for a 2.5% weekly rise, while the S&P 500 was up 1%. The Nasdaq, which has outpaced the other benchmarks in 2020 thanks to highflying tech stocks, is running behind, down 1.4% over the past four days.

What’s driving the market?

The continued rise in COVID-19 cases in the U.S. 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 the month.

“Further fiscal stimulus could give the bull market fresh legs, with equities having already priced in the current unprecedented monetary policy support,” said Han Tan, market analyst at FXTM, in a note.

Meanwhile, European Union leaders on Friday were kicking off a two-day summit aimed at reaching an agreement on a €750 billion recovery fund.

Read:European Union leaders say they are far apart on COVID-19 bailout deal

“Should fiscal policymakers disappoint and deny stock bulls the fuel they desire, we could see the rapid erosion of gains from recent months,” Tan said.

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 world-wide rose to 13.6 million on Thursday, after a record of about 230,400 new infections were counted on Wednesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. saw 66,300 new cases on Wednesday, just below the record of more than 67,000 cases reported on Tuesday.

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. Permitting activity for newly-built homes rose 2.1% between May and June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.24 million. Housing starts nearly met the consensus forecast of economists polled by MarketWatch for a 1.2 million annual rate while permits fell slightly short of economists’ consensus forecast of 1.3 million.

A July consumer sentiment index reading is due at 10 a.m. Eastern.

See also: Coronavirus tally: Global cases of COVID-19 13.8 million, 590,401 deaths as U.S.sets global case record

Which companies are in focus?

• Shares of Netflix Inc. NFLX, -7.05% were down 7%, with concerns over the second-half outlook overshadowing a jump in revenue and the addition of more than 10 million new subscribers to the video streaming service. Netflix shares have rallied 63% in the year to date. Read:Netflix promotes its Mr. Hollywood to co-CEO, showing importance of original content
• BlackRock Inc. BLK, +4.13% shares were up 1.5% after reporting earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations.
• Shares of cruise operators dropped after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended a “no sail order” for cruise ships through September 2020 due to a surge in new COVID-19 cases.Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. NCLH, -1.12% dropped 3.3%, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. RCL, -0.57% shed 3.2% and Carnival Corp. CCL, +0.06% fell 2.2%.

What are other markets doing?

The Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, +0.12% rose 0.1%, while the CSI 300 Index 000300, +0.63% gained 0.6%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index NIK, -0.32% rose 0.3%, while the Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.47% in Hong Kong gained 0.5%.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 Europe Index SXXP, +0.12% was up 0.1%, while London’s FTSE 100 Index UKX, +0.54% advanced 0.5%.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, 0.616% was up 0.3 basis point at 0.616%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.30%, a measure of the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, fell 0.3%.

Oil futures CL.1, +0.09% erased early weakness to turn slightly higher. Gold GC00, +0.44% also edged higher.