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 So much is uncertain these days. The coronavirus has came back, but the ‘second wave' already shows signs of fizzling out. China was in the headlines again recently, as President Trump promised to ban Tik Tok from US access unless it was purchased by a US company. With the November election less than three months away, no one can truly say what the political landscape will look like come year's end. And to top it off, we don't even really know how our kids will be going back to school. By remote? In person? It all comes back to the coronavirus.Looking at the clouded landscape from Wells Fargo, head of equity strategy Chris Harvey isn't worried about the virus or China - he believes those factors are baked into the economic picture by now. He does see risk, however, from the elections and the coming school year: "What we worry about more is the narrative of negative interest rates coming back, the fact that we think that political risk is underpriced, and back to school is going to have a ton of fits and starts, which could play into the economy and the job picture."On a more immediate note, Harvey sees the markets peaking near their current levels, and then pulling back in the run-up to the elections.Yet, even though Wells Fargo sees markets nearing their upper resistance levels, the firm is still suggesting value stocks to buy. The firm's analysts have been pointing out opportunities in the market, and we've pulled the info on them from the TipRanks database. Some of the recent picks are an eclectic bunch from a range of sectors. Let's find out w
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 U.S. stocks spent most of the day hovering around the flat line after a weaker-than-forecast July rise in retail sales.
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 President Donald Trump said Friday that McKesson Corp. would partner with the U.S. government to distribute a coronavirus vaccine when one is approved. Speaking at a White House news conference, Trump said the joint effort was being taken under the federal government's Operation Warp Speed, which aims to deliver COVID-19 vaccine doses to the American public. Shares of McKesson were up nearly 3% in recent trading action. Just prior to Trump's mention of the company, the stock was up about 1.7%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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U.S. stocks closed lower Friday and booked weekly gains, but trading to end in mid August suggests that it may be tough sledding ahead for investors hoping to find further gains, with the S&P 500 within a striking distance of its record close, as stimulus talks are all but dead and data point to a slow and fitful economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic reports, including unemployment claims and retail spending, continue to suggest the economy is recovering, but at an unsteady pace as the virus fails to submit efforts to quash it throughout the country. A report on retail sales in July rose 1.2%, and increased by 1.9% once stripping out for auto and gas. Meanwhile, second-quarter productivity jumped 7.3%, while second-quarter unit labor costs surged by 12.2%. Separately, a reading on industrial production rose 3% in July for the third straight monthly gain after sharp declines in March and April, the Federal Reserve reported Friday. Investors continued to wait for developments on a coronavirus relief package from Congress but lawmakers have broken for recess until Labor Day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 34 points, or 0.1%, at 27,931 and booked a weekly gain of 1.8%, while the S&P 500 index finished the day nearly unchanged at 3,372 but notched a weekly gain of 0.6%, ending Friday's trade about 14 points from a record close. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index closed 0.2% lower at 11,019 and logged a weekly gain of less than 0.1%. Tech stocks have been at the vanguard of the current recovery for stocks but have seen gains peter out in recent trade. Meanwhile, on U.S.-China trade talks, both sides have canceled plans for a virtual weekend meeting to assess their so-called phase one trade deal as it hits its six-month mark.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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Tesla bear ranks are thinner after BofA, Morgan Stanley upgrade their ratings on the stock, citing the share rally and ‘battery day'.
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 Stock futures pointed to another mixed session on Wall Street. A day earlier, tech shares led the Nasdaq to back-to-back sessions of advances while the S&P 500 and Dow declined.
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Dow Jones Edges Higher In New Bid For 28000; Tesla, AMAT Stock Lead Nasdaq Investor's Business DailyS&P 500 Index opens little changed after mixed US data FXStreetDow Jones Futures: Signal Mixed Stock Market Rally; Tesla Eyes Key Resistance; SEC Accounting Probe Slams Baidu's iQiyi Investor's Business DailyBullish indicators point to more gains for S&P 500 MarketWatch
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Oil futures settled lower on Friday on the back of weaker global demand forecasts, but declines in U.S. crude supplies helped prices tally a gain for the week. Right now, "fundamentals are not looking favorable for crude," with pressure from both the supply and demand sides of the market," said James Hatzigiannis, chief market strategist Ploutus Capital Advisors. Prices will likely "be coiling around this area until we see a big catalyst...leading to risk on or risk off sentiment." September West Texas Intermediate oil fell by 23 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $42.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Front-month prices rose 1.9% for the week.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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Shares of iQiyi Inc. plunged 15% on heavy volume Friday, in the wake of the China-based streaming video service's disclosure of an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission related to certain acquisitions and investments. Trading volume was 38.5 million shares, enough to make the stock the 7th-most actively traded on major U.S. exchanges, and more than 7-times the full-day average. The SEC investigation follows a report issued by short seller Wolfpack Research in April. Analyst Rob Sanderson at Loop Capital Markets said said investors "should not be incrementally rattled by the announcement of the SEC investigation," as the lack of content and heavy post-COVID-19 attrition was already well known. The disclosure of the investigation was in the company's second-quarter earnings report out late Thursday, in which iQiyi reported a narrower-than-expected loss and revenue that rose more than forecasts, according to FactSet, while online ad revenue and subscribers missed, Loop's Sanderson said. Separately, the stock's selloff was helping knock Baidu Inc.'s stock down 6.1%. In Baidu's second-quarter report, the China-based internet search and marketing company said revenue iQiyi represented about 27% of total revenue. Year to date, shares of iQiyi have shed 12.4% and Baidu have lost 7.5%, while the iShares MSCI China ETF has rallied 12.6% and the S&P 500 has gained 4.5%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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Gold futures fell on Friday to suffer their first weekly loss in 10 weeks. Overall strength in U.S. Treasury note yields for the week dulled demand for gold, which offers no yield. December gold fell $20.60, or nearly 1.1%, to settle at $1,949.80 an ounce. For the week, prices for the most-active contract lost about 3.9%, the first weekly loss since the week ended June 5, according to FactSet data.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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General Motors Co. would do well in spinning off its electric-vehicle operations and capabilities into a standalone company, "which could force the market to recognize its robust EV technology and upcoming (vehicle) lineup," analysts at Deutsche Bank said in a note Friday. That recognition would unlock "considerable" shareholder value, give the new company access to cheap capital to fund expected growth, and provide it the ability to attract and retain talent, the analysts said. GM seems to be considering the option, they said. Tesla Inc. , Nikola Corp. and others have reaped the benefits of that market attention, which stands "in sharp contrast with depressed legacy automakers' value," the Deutsche Bank analysts said. "This is particularly striking in the case of GM and VW, which actually have strong EV capability and upcoming product plans," they said. This "reflects massive investment flows towards vehicle electrification startups, at the expense of incumbent industry participants, and raises the question of how to get investors to recognize the value of electrification technology within large legacy organizations." The analysts reiterated their buy rating on GM, and kept their price target on the stock at $33, saying that an EV spinoff "could boost it considerably further." GM shares have lost 24% this year, contrasting with gains around 4% for the S&P 500 index in the same period.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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U.S. stocks opened mostly lower on Friday, as investors digested so-so economic data against the backdrop of stalled negotiations over extending coronavirus aid. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 119 points or 0.4% to open near 27,778, while the S&P 500 lost 8 points, 0.2%, to open near 3,370. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index bucked the trend, opening at 11,046, up about 3 points. Retail sales volumes grew 1.2% in July, below expectations, but boosted by upward revisions to prior months. All eyes are on consumer working and spending patterns now that existing fiscal relief has expired, and negotiations for an extension seem to have broken down in Washington. Shares of Tesla Inc. jumped at the start of trading, opening above an earlier record of $1,643.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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A new record for the S&P 500 seems unlikely this week as the market is on pace for an opening loss.
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Diane Jaffee of TCW Group says value stocks tend to outperform when investors look ahead to better times.
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 (Bloomberg) -- Oil headed for a second weekly gain as signs an energy demand recovery in the U.S. is gaining traction outweighed a more pessimistic report from the International Energy Agency.Futures in New York edged higher near $42 a barrel Friday and are up around 3% for the week. A slew of encouraging data on U.S. crude stockpiles, gasoline consumption and refinery activity spurred the biggest daily jump in three weeks Wednesday. The optimism was tempered the following day as the IEA cut its global demand estimates for almost every quarter through the end of 2021.The agency's steepest downgrades were for the second half of this year and it said the outlook for jet fuel consumption had worsened in the last few weeks as the coronavirus spread more widely. On a brighter note, the IEA said that world markets should tighten during the rest of the year as activity recovers and Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations keep production in check.Crude closed at a five-month high on Wednesday and is threatening to break out of the tight range it's been trading in for the last couple of months. That promises to be tough though, as it will need to overcome a still-surging coronavirus and large inventory overhangs. However, an expected increase in Chinese buying later in the year may lend some support."This week's inventory data was supportive, but the next significant catalyst that the market is focused on could be the U.S. coronavirus stimulus package," Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at AxiCorp Ltd., said
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