S&P 500, Nasdaq hit records as Congress nears $1.9T coronavirus relief

U.S. equity markets finished in record territory Friday after Congress paved the way for President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package and the jobs report showed a drop in the unemployment rate.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 92 points, or 0.30%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.39% and 0.57%, respectively. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite closed at record highs while the Dow finished just below its own peak.  Still, stocks registered the best weekly performance since November.

Material and energy stocks were top S&P sector performers as West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 63 cents to $57.07 per barrel, nearing a 1-year high.

Stocks rose despite a ho-hum jobs report with the addition of 49,000 jobs in January as the unemployment rate fell to 6.3%, according to the Labor Department. Wall Street analysts surveyed by Refinitiv had expected the addition of 50,000 jobs with the unemployment rate holding steady at 6.7%.

In Washington, the upper chamber of Congress early Friday morning voted 51-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote, to adopt a budget resolution for coronavirus relief. Later on Friday, the measure was passed by the House.

The votes clear the way for Democrats to use the budget reconciliation rules that would allow them to avoid a Republican filibuster.

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In stocks, GameStop Corp., AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and others received a reprieve after Robinhood Markets Inc. lifted all trading restrictions that had been implemented amid a surge in volatility. GameStop shares had plunged 84% this week through Thursday while AMC shares were down 47%.

Elsewhere, Chevron Corp. made an offer to buy the remaining shares of Noble Midstream L.P. that it doesn’t already own for $12.47 apiece, the same as Thursday’s closing level. The deal, which must be approved by Noble’s board, values the company at $1.13 billion.

In earnings, Ford Motor Co. lost $2.8 billion in the three months through December as an airbag recall and idled production of its F-150 pickup truck weighed on the company’s bottom line. The Detroit-based automaker said through 2025 it will spend $22 billion on electric vehicles and another $7 billion to develop autonomous vehicles.

Peloton Interactive Inc. reported record quarterly revenue and raised its full-year outlook, but warned recent upgrades to its supply chain would have a near-term impact on margins.

Snap Inc. said its number of daily active users rose 22% from a year ago, but warned the Capitol Hill riots and Apple’s privacy changes to its operating system would weigh on results in the current quarter.

In commodities, gold added $22 to $1,810.90 per ounce.

BITCOIN ROBS FROM GOLD AS PRECIOUS METAL SINKS BELOW $1,800