Stocks finished higher Friday as Wall Street rebounded from the previous session’s declines that came amid soaring coronavirus cases. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 399 points, or 1.37%, to 29,479, the S&P 500 rose 1.36% and the Nasdaq gained 1.02%. For the week the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 4.1% and the S&P 500 moved up 2.2%. The Nasdaq Composite eased 0.6%. Cisco Systems posted stronger-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings as services and security revenue offset a slump in sales for network equipment amid the global coronavirus pandemic. The stock finished up 7.1% to $41.40 in trading Friday. Walt Disney rose more than 2.1% Friday after the media and entertainment giant posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results on growth in its Disney+ streaming business. Stocks had finished lower Thursday as a resurgence of the coronavirus worried Wall Street that new restrictions aimed at curbing the pandemic would lead to a halt in any economic recovery. The U.S. set a record Thursday of more than 160,000 new coronavirus cases, while hospitalizations for covid-19 of more than 67,000 also set a national record. In California, coronavirus cases surpassed 1 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio could shut down the city’s school system, the nation’s largest, as early as Monday. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a 30-day stay-at-home advisory, asking the city’s residents to cancel Thanksgiving plans and stay at home.
Powell said the “the main risk we see” to an economic recovery “is clearly the further spread of the disease here in the United States.”
“We’ve got new cases at a record level. We’ve seen a number of states begin to reimpose limited activity restrictions, and people may lose confidence that it’s safe to go out,” Powell said. “We’ve said from the beginning that the economy will not fully recover until people are confident that it’s safe to resume activities involving crowds and people.” He also called for further economic support from Congress. But progress there has stalled and reports said Thursday that the Trump administration has walked away from talks on a relief package and will leave it up to Congress to revive negotiations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Nick Note: This stock market is a wipe out waiting to happen. Lock downs are coming. You may notice oil has priced in reality. Their is no vaccine, Even if approved it will take 2 years to get crowd immunity assuming the vaccines work and immunity lasts. Their is no stimuli program and will not be till 2nd quarter next year.