Investors have been waiting on the sidelines with the impeachment developments of President Donald Trump as well as on the hope of the next stimulus package announcement by upcoming President Joe Biden.
On Wednesday, January 13, the S&P 500 – the benchmark index of Wall Street – closed slightly higher as tech giant Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) provided a major boost. The defensive sectors like utilities and real estate were leading gains as investors waited on the sidelines for another round of fiscal stimulus. The Wall Street indices, including DJIA, remain flat. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP: .INX) ended Wednesday’s session 0.23% up at 3809.84. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) was marginally down 0.03% ending the session at 31,060.47. On the other hand, the Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ: .IXIC) was marginally up 0.4% ending the session at 13,128.95.
On the other hand, the US Treasury yields fall after six consecutive sessions of the surge. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC was the biggest percentage gainer in the S&P 500 jumping nearly 7%. The stock rallied after the news came that the VMWare CEO Pat Gelsinger will replace Intel’s outgoing CEO, Bob Swan.
After last week’s record rally in the markets, the indexes have been moving at the sidelines. Wall Street is holding up to the expectations of a hefty COVID-19 package from the upcoming Biden Administration. Mona Mahajan, U.S. investment strategist at Allianz Global Investors, New York, said:
“Investors have been for some time looking to the second half of 2021. They continue to hope for a real reopening. A day like today is probably natural after a long run. Some of the laggard (stock sectors) are leading,” referring to the U.S. Treasury decline.
After the Capitol invasion last week by Trump supporters, the US House of Representatives gathered to consider a second impeachment for the President.
Wall Street Indices Remain on One Level as Investors Are on the Wait & Watch Mode
Investors have been waiting to see whether the impeachment process would delay any stimulus to other promised agenda by President-elect Joe Biden. Shawn Cruz, senior market strategist at TD Ameritrade in Jersey City, New Jersey said:
“The headlines coming in are causing some near term jitters but it looks like investors are looking past that to the rest of the year. Investors are in wait-and-see mode for now … if you’re moving to the sidelines you probably might want to be moving out of cyclicals.”
However, the surge in the COVID-19 still keeps a dark cloud hovering around the employment data.
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