NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – Slight price losses shaped the picture on the US stock markets on Friday. Investors were initially disillusioned with the still pending political agreement on another Corona aid package. Even the approval of the corona vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer by the American drug agency FDA, which is likely to be imminent within days, no longer provided positive impulses.
However, the US consumer confidence determined by the University of Michigan was noticeably better than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial then reduced its losses from early trading and recently fell by 0.13 percent to 29,959.15 points. Before that, it had marked the lowest level of the stock market week that was coming to an end. The market-wide S&P 500 was 0.35 percent in the red at 3655.15 points. For the technology-heavy selection index Nasdaq 100 it went down 0.61 percent to 12,326.63 points.
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 fell. 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 not give share prices any further 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 climb by almost ten percent to a record high. They were at the top of the Dow by a wide margin.
Oracle stocks rose 0.5 percent after quarterly figures. Despite the Corona crisis, the software company was able to increase sales as expected. The SAP competitor’s net profit also increased.
MetLife’s shares lost 1.6 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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