Stocks concluded higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing out the session at record levels.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each rose aproximatelly 0.5 %, even though the Dow finished only a tick above the flatline. U.S. stocks shook off earlier declines after following a drop in overseas equities, after new data showed that UK gross domestic product (GDP) slumped by a report 9.9 % in 2020 as a virus induced recession swept the nation.

Shares of Dow component Disney (DIS) reversed earlier profits to fall greater than one % and guide back out of a record high, after the company posted a surprise quarterly benefit and grew Disney+ streaming subscribers much more than expected. Newly public business Bumble (BMBL), which began trading on the Nasdaq on Thursday, rose another seven % after jumping sixty three % in the public debut of its.

Over the older couple weeks, investors have absorbed a bevy of much stronger than expected earnings benefits, with corporate earnings rebounding faster than expected inspite of the ongoing pandemic. With over eighty % of businesses now having reported fourth quarter results, S&P 500 earnings per share (EPS) have topped estimates by 17 % for aggregate, and bounced back above pre COVID levels, based on an analysis by Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Golub.

generous government behavior and “Prompt mitigated the [virus related] damage, leading to outsized economic and earnings surprises,” Golub said. “The earnings recovery has been considerably more effective than we could have thought possible when the pandemic for starters took hold.”

Stocks have continued to set up fresh record highs against this backdrop, and as monetary and fiscal policy assistance remain robust. But as investors come to be comfortable with firming corporate functionality, businesses may need to top even bigger expectations to be rewarded. This may in turn put some pressure on the broader market in the near-term, and warrant much more astute assessments of specific stocks, according to some strategists.

“It is actually no secret that S&P 500 performance continues to be extremely powerful over the past several calendar years, driven primarily via valuation expansion. Nonetheless, with the index P/E [price-to-earnings ratio] recently eclipsing its previous dot-com extremely high, we think that valuation multiples will begin to compress in the coming months,” BMO Capital Markets strategist Brian Belski wrote in a note Thursday. “According to our work, strong EPS growth is going to be important for the next leg greater. Thankfully, that’s exactly what existing expectations are forecasting. However, we also discovered that these kinds of’ EPS-driven’ periods tend to be challenging from an investment strategy standpoint.”

“We believe that the’ easy money days’ are more than for the time being and investors will need to tighten up their aim by evaluating the merits of individual stocks, instead of chasing the momentum laden methods who have recently dominated the investment landscape,” he added.

–

4:00 p.m. ET: Stocks end higher, S&P 500 and Nasdaq reach history closing highs
Here is where the main stock indexes ended the session:

S&P 500 (GSPC): +18.55 points (+0.47 %) to 3,934.93

Dow (DJI): +27.44 points (+0.09 %) to 31,458.14

Nasdaq (IXIC): +69.70 points (+0.5 %) to 14,095.47

–

2:58 p.m. ET:’ Climate change’ is the most cited Biden policy on company earnings calls: FactSet
Fourth-quarter earnings season represents the pioneer with President Joe Biden in the White House, bringing a new political backdrop for corporations to contemplate.

Biden’s policies around climate change and environmental protections have been the most-cited political issues brought up on company earnings calls thus far, based on an analysis from FactSet’s John Butters.

“In terms of government policies discussed in conjunction with the Biden administration, climate change and energy policy (twenty eight), tax policy (twenty ) and COVID-19 policy (19) have been cited or maybe reviewed by probably the highest number of companies with this point on time in 2021,” Butters wrote. “Of these twenty eight firms, seventeen expressed support (or perhaps a willingness to the office with) the Biden administration on policies to greatly reduce carbon as well as greenhouse gas emissions. These seventeen companies either discussed initiatives to minimize the own carbon of theirs and greenhouse gas emissions or services or items they provide to assist clientele and customers lower their carbon and greenhouse gas emissions.”

“However, 4 companies also expressed some concerns about the executive order setting up a moratorium on new engine oil as well as gas leases on federal lands (and offshore),” he added.

The list of 28 firms discussing climate change as well as energy policy encompassed companies from an extensive array of industries, including JPMorgan Chase, United Airlines Holdings and 3M, alongside standard oil majors as Chevron.

–

11:36 a.m. ET: Stocks combined, S&P 500 and Nasdaq turn positive
Here’s in which marketplaces were trading Friday intraday:

S&P 500 (GSPC): +7.87 points (+0.2 %) to 3,924.25

Dow (DJI): -8.77 points (-0.03 %) to 31,421.93

Nasdaq (IXIC): +28.15 points (+0.21 %) to 14,053.77

Crude (CL=F): +$0.65 (+1.12 %) to $58.89 a barrel

Gold (GC=F): +$0.20 (+0.01 %) to $1,827.00 per ounce

10-year Treasury (TNX): +2.7 bps to deliver 1.185%

–

10:15 a.m. ET: Consumer sentiment unexpectedly plunges to a six-month lower in February: U. Michigan
U.S. consumer sentiment slid to the lowest level since August in February, in accordance with the Faculty of Michigan’s preliminary month to month survey, as Americans’ assessments of the path forward for the virus stricken economy suddenly grew a lot more grim.

The title consumer sentiment index dipped to 76.2 from 79.0 in January, sharply losing out on expectations for a rise to 80.9, according to Bloomberg consensus data.

The whole loss in February was “concentrated in the Expectation Index and among households with incomes below $75,000. Households with incomes of the bottom third reported significant setbacks in their current finances, with fewer of these households mentioning latest income gains than whenever after 2014,” Richard Curtin chief economist for the university’s Surveys of Consumers, said in a statement.

“Presumably a new round of stimulus payments will lessen financial hardships among those with probably the lowest incomes. More shocking was the finding that consumers, despite the likely passage of a large stimulus bill, viewed prospects for the national economy less favorably in early February than more month,” he added.

–

9:30 a.m. ET: Stocks open lower, but pace toward posting weekly gains
Here’s where marketplaces had been trading just after the opening bell:

S&P 500 (GSPC): 8.31 points (0.21 %) to 3,908.07

Dow (DJI): -19.64 (-0.06 %) to 31,411.06

Nasdaq (IXIC): 53.51 (+0.41 %) to 13,970.45

Crude (CL=F): -1dolar1 0.23 (0.39 %) to $58.01 a barrel

Gold (GC=F): 1dolar1 10.70 (-0.59 %) to $1,816.10 per ounce

10-year Treasury (TNX): +3.2 bps to deliver 1.19%

–

9:05 a.m. ET: Equity funds see highest weekly inflows actually as investors pile into tech stocks: Bank of America
Stock cash simply saw the largest ever week of theirs of inflows for the period ended February ten, with inflows totaling a record $58.1 billion, as reported by Bank of America. Investors pulled a total of $800 million out of gold and $10.6 billion out of profit during the week, the firm added.

Tech stocks in turn saw their own record week of inflows at $5.4 billion. U.S. large cap stocks saw their second-largest week of inflows ever at $25.1 billion, and U.S. smaller cap inflows saw their third largest week at $5.6 billion.

Bank of America warned that frothiness is actually rising in markets, however, as investors keep piling into stocks amid low interest rates, and hopes of a good recovery for the economy and corporate earnings. The firm’s proprietary “Bull as well as Bear Indicator” monitoring market sentiment rose to 7.7 from 7.5, nearing an 8.0 “sell” signal.

–

7:14 a.m. ET Friday: Stock futures point to a lower open
Below had been the primary moves in markets, as of 7:16 a.m. ET Friday:

S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,904.00, down 8.00 points or even 0.2%

Dow futures (YM=F): 31,305.00, down fifty four points or perhaps 0.17%

Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 13,711.25, printed 17.75 points or even 0.13%

Crude (CL=F): 1dolar1 0.43 (0.74 %) to $57.81 a barrel

Gold (GC=F): 1dolar1 9.50 (0.52 %) to $1,817.30 per ounce

10-year Treasury (TNX): +0.5 bps to deliver 1.163%

–

6:03 p.m. ET Thursday: Stock futures tick higher
Here’s in which markets were trading Thursday as overnight trading kicked off:

S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,904.50, down 7.5 points or 0.19%

Dow futures (YM=F): 31,327.00, down thirty two points or even 0.1%

Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 13,703.5, down 25.5 points or perhaps 0.19%