Stocks finish mixed as House Dems unveil $1.9T coronavirus stimulus bill

U.S. equity markets finished little changed Friday to end the week mixed, as investors bought energy stocks and sold some marquee tech names. They also sifted through text from the U.S. House of Representatives of its $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill.

Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite finished fractionally higher while the S&P 500 slipped 0.18%, closing lower for a fourth straight day.

Energy and material names posted gains, as West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $1.28 to $59.24 per barrel and gold ticked up $2.40 to $1,775.80 an ounce. Consumer staples saw some profit-taking, as did Amazon and Facebook.

Bitcoin also attracted new money, crossing the $55,000 level pushing its market value above $1 trillion for the first time.

BITCOIN'S MARKET VALUE TOPS $1 TRILLION

On COVID-19 relief, the bill would extend $1,400 checks to Americans making $75,000 per year or less, extend the additional $400 per week of federal unemployment benefits and raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, among other things.

Moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have in the past said they do not support the minimum wage increase, putting the passage of the bill in jeopardy. Both senators would need to vote in favor of the bill, with all Republicans voting against,  in order for a tie-breaking vote in support to be cast by Vice President Kamala Harris.

The major averages had opened to the session to modest gains after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called for Congress to deliver a “big package” for COVID-19 relief.

“I think the price of doing too little is much higher than the price of doing something big,” Yellen told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Thursday. “We think that the benefits will far outweigh the costs in the longer run.”

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Looking at stocks, Deere & Co. raised its 2021 outlook for both earnings and revenue amid improved demand for its farm and construction machinery, which is expected to see sales grow by 15% to 20% in the U.S. and Canada, up from 5% to 10% growth previously. Caterpillar rallied in tandem.

Semiconductor equipment manufacturer Applied Materials Inc. received a slew of price target hikes from Wall Street analysts after guiding for revenue above expectations despite the global chip shortage.

Britain’s top court ruled some Uber Technologies Inc. drivers are considered employees and not independent contractors. The decision will now go to an employment tribunal which will determine how those drivers will be compensated.

Streaming provider Roku Inc. reported a surprise profit as average revenue per user jumped 24% from a year ago. The company, however, warned full-year revenue growth would be below the levels experienced in the first two quarters of 2021.

File-hosting service Dropbox Inc. posted quarterly revenue that topped the $500 million mark for the first time, but its bottom line suffered because of a $400 million real estate impairment charge due its permanent shift to work from home.

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European markets closed higher, with Britain’s FTSE 100 up 0.1%, Germany’s DAX 30 rising 0.77% and France’s CAC 40 gaining 0.79%.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.72% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.16% and China’s Shanghai Composite climbed 0.57%.