By Alex Eule |
Wednesday, February 3
Calm Returns. We've
come a long way from last week's volatility. The S&P
500 gained for the third consecutive day, but just barely, up
0.1%. The large-cap index was nearly split on the day, with 253 components
rising, 246 falling, and one unchanged.
The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.02%.
Meanwhile, shares of GameStop, the new proxy for volatility,
seemed to declare an end to two weeks of market insanity. Shares of the
videogame retailer were up a rather normal 2.7% on the day.
The new calmness comes with federal regulators set
to meet tomorrow to discuss last week's volatile trading. The meeting, which
will include members of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission,
the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York, and the Securities
and Exchange Commission, was called by newly confirmed Treasury
Secretary Janet Yellen and indicates that
federal officials are, at the very least, taking a serious look at the
short-squeeze induced rallies. A statement from the Treasury
Department indicated that Yellen wants to discuss "whether
recent activities are consistent with investor protection and fair and
efficient markets.”
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome
Powell declined to comment on the GameStop situation during his
regularly scheduled press conference last week. Yellen's stance suggests the
government may still get involved.
For now, investors will have to return their focus
to the pandemic, stimulus plans, earnings, and jobs. There's potentially good
news on all those fronts. ADP's private-sector employment report today
indicated that businesses added 174,000 jobs in January, well ahead of an
expected gain of 50,000 jobs. The more important jobs number arrives on Friday
with the government's nonfarms payroll report. Barron's
Matthew Klein has more on what to expect -- and what to look for -- in
the data.
DJIA: +0.12% to 30,723.60
S&P 500: +0.10% to 3,830.17
Nasdaq: -0.02% to 13,610.54
The Hot Stock: EOG
Resources +9.0%
The Biggest Loser: PerkinElmer -7.6%
Best Sector: Energy +4.3%
Worst Sector: Health Care -0.7%
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