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Stocks end positive week near session highs
17-Apr-20 16:15 ET
Dow +704.81 at 24242.49, Nasdaq +117.78 at 8650.15, S&P +75.01 at 2874.56

https://www.briefing.com/stock-market-update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 advanced 2.7% on Friday amid hopes for a COVID-19 treatment and optimism about reopening the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+3.0%) and Russell 2000 (+4.3%) outpaced the benchmark index, while the Nasdaq Composite (+1.4%) had a more modest performance.

A report published by Stat News indicated that most coronavirus patients treated with Gilead Sciences' (GILD 83.99, +7.45, +9.7%) remdesivir showed a rapid recovery in a trial at the University of Chicago Medicine. Note, Gilead did not issue an official statement regarding the trial, which lacked a placebo group for comparison.

The possibility that there might be an effective COVID-19 treatment, though, added to the positive sentiment in the market as it could restore some confidence for consumers when the economy starts to reopen. President Trump said yesterday that some states already satisfied the administration's new guidelines to reopen before May.

While some investors remained cautious, the market continued to price in a better-than-feared economic outlook. All 11 S&P 500 sectors posted gains to end the week with relative strength found in the energy (+10.4%) and financials (+5.6%) sectors.

The information technology sector (+1.4%) underperformed today amid relative weakness in Apple (AAPL 282.80, -3.89, -1.4%), which was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs on a view that iPhone sales will take more time to recover than expected.

Boeing (BA 154.00, +19.76, +14.7%) shares rose nearly 15% after the company said it plans to restart production at its Puget Sound facility next week. Procter & Gamble (PG 124.69, +3.19, +2.6%) advanced with the broader market after it beat earnings estimates.

U.S. Treasuries were holding steady despite the stock market gains amid a weak Q1 GDP print out of China and continued weakness in oil prices ($18.20/bbl, -1.67, -8.4%). Longer-dated maturities saw modest selling, though, after the New York Fed stated it will reduce its Treasury purchases next week to ~$75 billion from ~$150 billion this week.

The 2-yr yield increased one basis point to 0.20%, and the 10-yr yield increased four basis points to 0.65%. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.2% to 99.78.

Friday's economic data was limited to the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for March, which declined 6.7% (Briefing.com consensus -7.1%) following a revised 0.2% decline in February (from +0.1%). Investors will not receive any economic data on Monday.

Nasdaq Composite -3.6% YTD
S&P 500 -11.0% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -15.1% YTD
Russell 2000 -26.3% YTD

Market Snapshot
Dow 24242.49 +704.81 (2.99%)
Nasdaq 8650.15 +117.78 (1.38%)
SP 500 2874.56 +75.01 (2.68%)
10-yr Note -3/32 0.650
NYSE Adv 2470 Dec 427 Vol 1.4 bln
Nasdaq Adv 2616 Dec 654 Vol 4.3 bln

Industry Watch
Strong: Financials, Industrials, Energy
Weak: Consumer Staples, Information Technology, Communication Services

Moving the Market

-- Stock market ends week near session highs amid hopes for COVID-19 treatment, optimism about reopening the economy

-- Broad-based advance with relative strength in the energy and financial sectors

-- Gilead Sciences' (GILD) remdesivir shows promising therapeutic signs for COVID-19

WTI crude extends decline by 8%
17-Apr-20 15:30 ET
Dow +498.49 at 24036.17, Nasdaq +63.29 at 8595.66, S&P +53.24 at 2852.79

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 is up 1.9%, while the Russell 2000 outperforms with a 3.7% gain.

One last look at the S&P 500 sectors shows energy (+8.1%) and financials (+4.7%) firmly atop the standings, while the information technology (+0.6%), communication services (+0.8%), and consumer staples (+0.9%) sectors are up less than 1.0%.

WTI crude futures settled down $1.67 (-8.4%) to $18.20/bbl amid a lack of confidence in the fundamentals, which include weak demand.