Dow Cuts Gains on Stimulus Uncertainty as Mnuchin Says Talks to Continue
Investing.com
Published Sep 30, 2020 01:13PM ET
Updated Sep 30, 2020 03:32PM ET
By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – The Dow cut some gains Wednesday, after U.S. lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on another coronavirus stimulus package, but pledged to continue talks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.91% or 250 points after rising about 570 points. The S&P 500 was up 0.38%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.36%.
Investor hopes for further federal stimulus were dealt a blow somewhat after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin touted progress on stimulus talks, but said they had yet to reach an agreement. The talks are set to continue with the House expected to vote on the $2.2 trillion package on Wednesday. Ahead of his meeting with House Speaker Nanci Pelosi, Mnuchin told CNBC he was "hopeful" about getting a deal done.
The news cooled some optimism on stocks tied to the progress of the economy with airlines, cruise operators and banks cutting gains. Airlines stand to lose big if Congress fails to reach an agreement on the proposed $2.2 trillion aid package that includes funds for the industry as well as unemployment benefits, direct payments to households and small business loans.
Citigroup (NYSE:C) rose more than 1%, United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) was up 0.5% and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NYSE:NCLH) was up 3%.
The somewhat dour news on the stimulus offset a trio of bullish economic reports seen earlier.
The private sector created 749,000 jobs in September, according to ADP data on Wednesday, topping economists' expectations for a gain of the 650,000.
"We look for an 950K increase in Friday’s private payroll number, slowing marginally from 1,027K in August and 1,481K in July. But this is far from certain, given the deviation between the ADP and official numbers since Covid struck," Pantheon Macroeconomics said in a note.
The housing market, meanwhile, remained robust as the National Association of Realtors survey showed pending home sales increased a record pace of 8.8% last month.
Homebuilders were sharply higher following the survey, with SPDR® S&P Homebuilders ETF (NYSE:XHB) up more than 1%, led by Lennar (NYSE:LEN), up more than 3%.
On the manufacturing front, Chicago PMI jumped to 62.4 from 51.2, markedly topping estimates of 52.
Tech also cut gains but remained among the biggest gainers. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) traded above the flatline, while Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) fell into the red.
On the vaccine front, meanwhile, Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) CEO Stéphane Bancel reportedly told the Financial Times that a vaccine was unlikely to be delivered before U.S. election, forcing the stock to turn negative.
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