(Reuters) -US stocks ended lower on Friday, slowed by uncertainty surrounding a coronavirus stimulus deal, while Tesla shares jumped in heavy trading expecting to add to the S&P 500 next week .
All three major indexes hit the top levels in the opening before returning. The S&P 500 technology index, which has gained momentum this week, was the biggest draw on the overall token index.
There was heavy and volatile trading in shares of electric car maker Tesla Inc, which on Monday becomes the most valuable company ever added to Wall Street’s main index.
The stock eventually went up 6% and hit a high level. The turnover in Tesla shares rose $ 120 billion shortly after 4pm EST, with a volume of more than 200 million as the stock traded after hours, according to Refinitiv data.
“Tesla is a kind of New Age cult stock. There are people who love the product and who love the stock, ”said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York, New York.
Investors will see more gains in the stock on Monday, but perhaps a profit after that, he said, adding, “a lot of people bought when the news came” about being included in the S&P 500.
Market trading volumes were also high due to stock index futures, stock index options, stock options and single stock futures at the end of trading, also known as “quadrilateral witchcraft.”
U.S. exchanges traded up 15.8 billion shares, compared to an average of 11.6 billion for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
The U.S. Congress on Friday threatened to blow through a midnight deadline to keep the government open and deal with the coronavirus crisis, as partisan fighting over federal lending rules delayed a new COVID-19 aid bill $ 900 billion.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 124.32 points, or 0.41%, to 30,179.05, the S&P 500 lost 13.07 points, or 0.35%, to 3,709.41 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 9.11 points, or 0.07%, to 12,755.64.
For the week, the S&P 500 rose 1.3%, the Dow rose 0.4% and the Nasdaq gained 3.1%.
Recent weak economic data has put more pressure on lawyers to reach an agreement.
“Investors certainly want something to come through or would like to see something come through in terms of stimulus sooner rather than later as COVID issues continue to rise and economic data has shown that it’s starting to decline, ”said Lindsey Bell, chief investment strategist. at Ally Invest, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Continued monetary and fiscal stimulus is expected to help stocks outperform the economic impact of the pandemic, and set them up for strong annual gains, despite a rocky start to the year.
FedEx Corp fell 5.7% after failing to provide an employment forecast for 2021, even as its quarterly profit almost doubled.
Cases that are declining higher than those that are advancing ones on the NYSE with a 1.41-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.26-to-1 ratio favored rejection.
The S&P 500 posted 40 new 52-week highs and no new levels; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 302 new highs and 9 new lows.
Reporting with Karen Pierog in Chicago and Caroline Valetkevitch in New York; Additional commentary by April Joyner in New York, Ambar Warrick and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Edited by Aurora Ellis, Maju Samuel and Shounak Dasgupta