Wall Street closed low

1 min read

U.S. stocks closed lower on Friday as investors wrestled with fiscal stimulus developments, concerns over a lengthy rollout of vaccines, and a growing number of state-level shutdowns to combat the spiraling COVID-19 pandemic.

Stay-at-home plays such as Zoom Video Communications Inc and Netflix Inc, which have outperformed throughout the health crisis, helped curb the Nasdaq’s loss.

Throughout the week, the ebb and flow of vaccine news and spiking infections had investors oscillating between economically-sensitive cyclical stocks and pandemic-resistant market leaders.

The S&P 500 and the Dow posted marginal losses for the week, while the tech-laden Nasdaq settled a bit higher from last Friday’s close.

“Markets are still stuck in a push-and-pull between the dramatic rise of new COVID cases versus apparent progress on vaccines,” said David Carter, chief investment officer at Lenox Wealth Advisors in New York. “This is likely to continue until we have an approved and distributed vaccine.”