Stocks ended Friday's session higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing at fresh record highs as investors remained optimistic towards the near-term passage of a $1.9 trillion stimulus package and a strong coronavirus vaccine rollout. Market benchmarks ended the week in positive territory, with the S&P rising 1.2%, the Dow adding 1% and the Nasdaq gaining 1.7%.
Meanwhile, U.S. consumer sentiment fell to the lowest level since August in February, according to the University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers preliminary monthly reading. The headline consumer sentiment index unexpectedly declined to 76.2 in February from 79.0 in January.
The confidence decline was "concentrated in the Expectation Index and among households with incomes below $75,000," said Richard Curtin, chief economist of the Surveys of Consumers, in a statement. "Presumably a new round of stimulus payments will reduce financial hardships among those with the lowest incomes. More surprising was the finding that consumers, despite the expected passage of a massive stimulus bill, viewed prospects for the national economy less favorable in early February than last month."
Here's how the market settled to close out the week:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +0.47% to +18.55 points to 3,934.93
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +0.09% or +27.70 points to 31,458.40
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +0.50% or +69.70 points to 14,095.47
For Stocks, the Biden administration secured new deals for another 200 million doses of the coronavirus vaccines developed by Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE)-BioNTech (NASDAQ: BTNX), bringing the U.S. total to 600 million. AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN) announced Friday that the drugmaker expects to double its monthly coronavirus vaccine production by April, bringing its monthly production to 200 million.
For Sector Performance, sectors on the S&P 500 ended mostly higher on Friday, with only Real Estate (NYSE: XLRE) and Utilities (NYSE: XLU) falling into negative territory. Lead gainers for the session were Energy (NYSE: XLE), Materials (NYSE: XLB) and Financials (NYSE: XLF).
For Commodities and Currencies, the U.S. Dollar (NYSE: UUP) rose slightly higher on Friday as risk appetite improved later in the session. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against other global currencies, gained 0.1% to 90.494. Bitcoin slipped down 1.3% on the day at $47,356, after reaching a record high of $49,000. The digital currency rose about 20% this week following increased corporate interest. Gold (NYSE: GLD) prices lowered on the stronger dollar on Friday, with losses curbed by positive outlooks towards the $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus package. Spot gold fell 0.2% at $1,822.15 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures settled 0.2% lower at $1,823.20 per ounce. Crude oil futures soared higher on Friday on positive stimulus outlooks. International benchmark Brent Crude (NYSE: BNO) surged 2.11% to $62.43 per barrel, while domestic index West Texas Intermediate (NYSE: USO) settled 2.11% higher at $59.47 each.
The U.S. Stock Market will be closed on Monday in observance of the Presidents Day holiday. For Tuesday, market participants will focus on another round of corporate quarterly earnings from companies like CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) and Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR).