Today is Veteran's Day, which led to a quiet session in the U.S.
Despite sporting gains for most of the day, the Dow backpedaled in late afternoon trading, closing lower as investors ditched stay-at-home stocks in favor of sectors that hinged more on a recovering economy. In response, the blue-chip index fell 23 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both brushed off yesterday's struggles and rose to close out the session. Meanwhile, the market remained relatively quiet today thanks to Veteran's Day, though sentiment is still strong following Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech's (BNTX) upbeat vaccine news.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Options bulls may want to consider this Apple supplier.
- Brokerages are rethinking their coverage concerning DDOG.
- Plus, Tencent stock fell despite an impressive third quarter; one blue-chip that could help your portfolio; and what to expect from a major software company.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 29,397.63) fell 23.29 points, or 0.08%, for the day. Apple (AAPL) added 3% to lead the list of Dow winners today. Meanwhile, American Express (AXP) paced the list of losers with a 4.2% drop
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index (SPX - 3,572.66) added 27.13 points, or 0.8%, for the day. The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 11,786.43) rose 232.58 points, or 2% for the day.
Lastly, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 23.45) lost 1.4 point, or 5.4% for the day.
- Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger today announced a statewide recount of ballots cast in the Presidential election, which will be conducted by hand. (CNBC)
- Control of the U.S. Senate will be determined in January by two Georgia runoff elections, after Republican Senator Dan Sullivan was projected to win re-election in Alaska. (Reuters)
- One Chinese media stock brushed off its earnings beat.
- Why Home Depot stock is a potential portfolio builder.
- With earnings in sight, here's what to expect from Wix.com.
Oil Rises, Gold Falls Following Vaccine Optimism
Oil prices rose marginally today, as investors remained hopeful of an effective COVID-19 vaccine and a report showed U.S. crude inventories fell by 5.1 million last week, which was well above what analysts predicted. As a result, December-dated crude rose 9 cents, or 0.02%, to $41.45 a barrel.
A stronger dollar and interest in riskier assets dragged down gold prices today. The latter was due in large part to optimism surrounding a quick economic rebound following the aforementioned vaccine news. December gold shed $14.80, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,861.60 an ounce for the day.