US Stock Market Overview – Stock Rise Led by Technology as the White Ups its Stimulus Bid

Stocks rose sharply on Friday allowing the S&P 500 index to notch up one of the biggest weekly advances in three months. Investors welcomed signs pointing to a decisive result in next month’s presidential election. The market now appears to be pricing in a Biden victor and the likelihood that the senate would also flip to the democrats. The betting markets now show Biden ahead (Predictit) by 30-points, and the Senate to flip to the Democrats by 20-points.

The White House announced that it is willing to increase the amount of the fiscal stimulus to 1.8-trillion which is still shy of the House of Representatives’ number of 2.6-trillion. Most sectors in the S&P 500 index were higher led by Technology and Healthcare, the Energy sector bucked the trend. The dollar sold off sharply helping to buoy gold and silver prices, which helped the mining sector. The VIX volatility index moved lower closing down nearly 9% for the week.

Expectations of continued strong housing data and robust growth in China helped lift copper prices to a 2-year high. Copper prices have been consolidating and now appear ready to resume their uptrend. A weaker dollar is helping commodities such as copper gain traction.

White House Increases Stimulus Offer

The White House has announced that it has increased its stimulus target and is preparing a $1.8 trillion coronavirus relief offer, its largest proposal to date. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is expected to discuss a new $1.8 trillion proposal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The White House proposal marks a further narrowing of the distance between the administration and Democratic leaders over the bill’s overall price tag. Still, its nearly 0.8 trillion of the level that the House of Representatives wants and investors are unsure if a deal will get done ahead of the election.