US indices dropped a bit on Friday, after an impressive rally on Thursday, when the indices closed with updated records.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 0.41% and closed at 30179.05 points, while the S&P 500 sank 0.35% and reached 3709.41 points. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ Composite lost 0.07% and closed at 12755.64 points.
But in general, all three leading indicators ended the trading week in positive territory: the S&P 500 gained 1.3%, the DJIA increased by 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite rose by 3.1%.
Some experts say the reason for the decline was the lack of progress in the negotiations on new US fiscal stimulus. But Senator Mitch McConnell said a package may be concluded soon. Earlier, there were reports that representatives of the Republican and Democratic parties are finalizing the negotiations, however, at the close of the trading session on Friday, no final decision was made.
Aside from that, the US Senate voted unanimously to pass a temporary funding bill to avoid government shutdown. Then, an hour and a half before its expiration, US President Donald Trump signed a law extending it for another two days.
In another note, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an emergency authorization for the use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. The epidemiological situation in the US continues to be tense, especially since more than 238,000 new coronavirus cases were identified on Thursday. However, despite the uncontrolled rise in cases, stock markets continued to increase in recent months.
The budget deficit in the US also grew, gaining 10.6% thereby reaching $ 178.513 billion. Analysts expected it to be $ 189 billion, while respondents to The Wall Street Journal expected $ 186.9 billion.
The index of leading economic indicators also dipped to 0.6% in November, while experts projected it to be 0.5%.
With regards to the stock markets, the shares of Pfizer dropped by 0.9% even amid the news that the company had applied to Japan's Ministry of Health for permission to use its COVID-19 vaccine.
Stocks of FedEx also declined by 5.7%, despite the fact that the company reported a possible record revenue in the second quarter of 2021.
Moderna also lost 2.6%, even amid the approval of the FDA for the use of its vaccine.
Meanwhile, shares of BioTelemetry increased by 16.9%. The company also announced that it is acquiring another corporation specializing in the provision of remote cardiac diagnostics and monitoring services. The deal is valued at $ 2.47 billion.
Stocks of Tesla also grew by almost 6%. Apart from that, starting this week, its shares will be included in the calculation of the S&P 500 index.
