Although Wall Street got off to a strong start last week, the momentum soon faded with President Trump and first lady Melania Trump testing positive for covid-19. Donald Trump will now remain in quarantine, adding to the uncertainties around the US presidential elections.
Trump testing covid-19 positive is expected to hurt its presidential campaign. Meanwhile, the NFP report for September disappointed investors, although the employment rate declined to 7.9%, the lowest level in the pandemic era. Investors also remained concerned about the lack of progress in the US government announcing the next fiscal stimulus package.
Performance of US Indices
US stocks closed lower on Friday, with investors reacting to President Trump testing positive for covid-19 and weak nonfarm figures. The US economy added 661,000 new jobs in September, the smallest gain since the reopening of businesses after lockdowns.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 134.09 points to close at 27,682.81on Friday. The 30-stock index added 1.9% last week, following a 1.8% decline in the prior week. The S&P 500 index lost 1% on Friday, but still closed the week higher by 1.5%. The Nasdaq Composite Index saw a weekly surge of 1.5%, despite closing lower by 2.2% on Friday.
Top US Stocks of the Week
ArcelorMittal’s (NYSE: MT) shares gained around 11% on Monday after Cleveland-Cliffs agreed to acquire the US operations of the company for $1.4 billion. The stock added around 14% last week.
Shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: INO) plummeted more than 28% on Monday after the FDA imposed a partial clinical hold on the Phase 2/3 trial of its coronavirus vaccine candidate INO-4800. The stock lost around 31% last week.
Asana, Inc’s (NYSE: ASAN) stock jumped more than 37% after making its public debut on Wednesday.
Shares of Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS) declined over 5% on Wednesday following weak quarterly sales. Progress Software’s stock climbed around 6% for the week.
Bed Bath & Beyond’s (NASDAQ: BBBY) shares climbed 25% on Thursday after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 results. The stock surged more than 41% last week.
Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) gained 1.5% on Thursday following upbeat quarterly results. The stock added over 3% last week.
Smart Global Holdings Inc’s (NASDAQ: SGH) stock slipped more than 8% on Friday despite the company reporting upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter. Investors were disappointed with the company’s quarterly sales growth.
Performance of European Indices
European stocks closed slightly higher on Friday, despite news of the US President testing positive for the novel coronavirus. Eurozone’s consumer prices declined by 0.3% in September, its steepest downturn since April 2016.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.25% on Friday to close the week higher by 2%. The FTSE 100 index rose 0.4% on Friday, closing the week up by 1%. The French CAC 40 surged 2%, while the German DAX 30 index gained 1.8% last week.
Top European Stocks of the Week
Shares of Ferguson gained more than 6% on Tuesday after the company reported higher profits for the full year and restored its dividend.
Suez’s shares added over 5% on Wednesday after Veolia raised its bid to buy a stake in the French company.
Centamin’s stock plunged around 22% on Friday after the gold mining firm said projected a decline in annual production.
Shares of ACS jumped 25% on Friday after French rival Vinci proposed to buy the Spanish giant’s construction business for €2.8 billion.
The Forex Market
The euro began the week by gaining sharply against the US dollar but gave back some of the gains later in the week. With consumer prices recording their biggest decline in more than four years, investors looked for some signs of the ECB further easing its monetary policy. The EUR/USD pair added 0.7% last week.
The Canadian dollar surged to a ten-day high versus the US dollar last week, as the country’s factory activity in September rose the most in more than two years. The loonie cut back some gains as oil prices declined. The CAD/USD added around 0.5% last week.
The Crypto Market
Bitcoin remained range-bound below the $11,000 mark, with US stocks remaining subdued. Contrary to previous trends, Bitcoin has recently been tracking the S&P 500 index and investors are waiting for the cryptocurrency to make a marked journey north.
Over the weekend, Bitcoin traded around $10,600, while Ethereum remained close to the $351 level.
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