NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – Predominantly price losses shaped the picture on the US stock markets on Friday. Investors were disillusioned with the still pending political agreement on another corona aid package. The Dow Jones Industrial stepped on the spot with 29,999 points. It had previously marked the lowest level of the stock market week that was coming to an end. On a weekly basis, there is a decrease of 0.7 percent.
The US consumer confidence determined by the University of Michigan was noticeably better than expected in December. On the stock exchange, however, concerns about the high number of corona infections predominated. The market-wide S&P 500 was most recently 0.35 percent in the red at 3655 points. For the technology-heavy selection index Nasdaq 100 it went down 0.56 percent to 12,333 points.
“A disappointing week,” was the brief conclusion of the analyst Edward Moya of the trading house Oanda. There has been no progress in the negotiations on the corona aid package in the USA, the tussle over Brexit continues and there is bad news about a corona vaccine from the pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline. Investors therefore sought refuge in gold as a safe investment.
In terms of the aid package for the US economy, the leadership of the Republican Senate majority recently rejected a non-partisan proposal for a further stimulus package against the effects of the corona pandemic. The package should weigh more than $ 900 billion.
The shares of the Mainz biotech company Biontech and the US partner Pfizer each fell 1.5 percent. According to US Secretary of Health Alex Azar, the US health authority FDA is working towards approval of the corona vaccine. The first vaccinations could start in the coming week. However, this could no longer give share prices any upward impetus.
The fact that Walt Disney expects a sharp increase in the number of subscribers in its streaming division by 2024 thanks to an expanded offering made the entertainment giant’s shares soar 15 percent to a record high. They were at the top of the Dow by a wide margin.
Oracle went up to quarterly figures by 1.2 percent. Despite the Corona crisis, the software company was able to increase sales as expected. The SAP competitor’s net profit also increased.
MetLife shares lost 1.4 percent. The Swiss insurer Zurich is expanding its business in the USA and, as expected, is taking over the property and casualty insurance lines from its US competitor Metlife./bek/men
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