NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – The US stock exchanges quickly contained their meanwhile significant losses on Friday. In view of the already high valuations and largely disappointing economic data, however, there was not enough for more. The expected economic stimulus package promised by the elected US President Joe Biden did not provide investors with any arguments to buy. In addition, US stock market trading paused on Monday because of Martin Luther King Day – before the long weekend and Biden’s swearing-in on Wednesday, many investors apparently did not want to take the risk.
After a loss of 1.2 percent at times, the Dow Jones Industrial was last 0.28 percent lower at 30 905.97 points. The leading index thus returned to its early trading level, showing a weekly minus of just over 0.6 percent.
The market-wide S&P 500 showed a similar picture as the Dow on Friday, which limited its daily loss to 0.38 percent at 3780.99 meters. At the friendly started Nasdaq 100 it was not quite enough for the moderate gains at the beginning – the technology-heavy selection index recorded a minus of 0.13 percent to 12,881.28 points.
The shares of the banks, which reported on their business development on Friday, could not escape the negative market environment. However, the price losses were different.
JPMorgan’s papers held up comparatively well after a recent strong run with a minus of 1.3 percent. The largest US financial institution surprised in the final quarter of 2020 with a profit jump to previously unknown heights. Instead of putting more money aside for endangered loans as expected by analysts, the bank even released provisions in the billions. But even without this step, JPMorgan would have increased profits more than experts expected.
In contrast, competitor Citigroup reported a significant decline in profits, which caused the shares to plummet by almost six percent. Wells Fargo was not doing well either. The institute’s quarterly profit was four percent higher than a year earlier. But at that time legal costs had ruined the result. Accordingly, the shares have now lost over seven percent.
The shares of the oil companies suffered from the significant drop in the price of the important raw material. In the Dow, Chevron was one of the biggest losers with minus three percent. Outside the benchmark index, Exxon Mobil was down four percent. A report by the Wall Street Journal, according to which the US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the company, also weighed down. The reason for this is supposed to be a complaint from a whistleblower about a too high rating of a funding facility.
An IPO once again ensured a good mood: the shares of the auto accessories specialist Driven Brands jumped up to a third in early trading. Most recently they were quoted at $ 27.69, which still meant a price premium of around a quarter to the issue price of $ 22 – and this was already above the original range of $ 17 to 20. With almost 32 million shares, according to the Nasdaq, Driven Brands offered over six million fewer shares than originally planned./gl/he
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