Wall Street rises to new heights and picks up on poor report on jobs; Increase 75 Pt by Investing.com

By Geoffrey Smith

Investing.com – US stock markets reopened on Friday to a new record high, marking a remarkable week on a high note, despite the drama in Washington DC and the worst labor market report in eight months.

At 09:40 ET (1440 GMT) it was 76 points, or 0.2%, at 31,117 points. It increased by 0.4% and by 0.7%. All three closed at record highs again on Thursday.

The market showed its figures showing that the economy lost 140,000 jobs in December. The development was largely expected after the report of private payroll processor ADP on Wednesday, and market participants were softened by a major upward revision of rental numbers in November. The unemployment rate remained at 6.7% of the labor force.

The risks to the economy due to a sharp rise in unemployment will soon appear to be diminished by the Democrats’ victory in Georgia’s two by-elections in the Senate. Their consequent control of the upper chamber means that the incoming administration of Joe Biden will have less resistance to replace the income of those who are unemployed due to Covid-19. Mark Dowding, chief investment officer of BlueBay Asset Management, said he expects between $ 1 billion and $ 2 billion in extra fiscal spending that will increase the outlook for GDP this year.

In addition, Dowding added, the Democrats’ narrow margin of control in Congress means that many of the more extensive or radical aspects of the Biden agenda are unlikely to see the light of day.

“Increased regulation on the energy sector, banks and big technology is likely to be watered down in the face of opposition at the state level,” Dowding said.

Tesla (NASDAQ :)’s shares were up another 4.4%, adding another $ 30 billion to its market value, with no news flow other than the constant rise in analysts’ price targets, all of which remain comfortably below the spot price . Its market value reached more than $ 800 billion for the first time, confirming founder Elon Musk’s new position as the richest man in the world.

Meanwhile, Apple (NASDAQ :)’s share rose 0.6% after a curious wave of press releases from Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor (OTC :), which was forced to step back overnight, claiming it had early talks on cooperation with the iPhone manufacturer in the car. globe.

Several news reports suggested that the company intensified its efforts to develop a self-propelled motor with electric power. This is a project that the company put in the backyard a few years ago. Quantumscape (NYSE :), whose investigation into solid-state batteries has fueled speculation that it could partner with Apple in such a venture, received a 0.5% increase.

Plug power (NASDAQ :)’s share rose another 13% with continued enthusiasm after the SK group in South Korea agreed to invest $ 1.5 billion in a joint venture with the hydrogen fuel cell developer earlier this week. The company is still unprofitable after 20 years, but market value has risen by almost 100% to more than $ 20 billion in the past month.