In the early morning of the 26th Beijing time, US stocks closed higher on Friday, led by technology stocks. The three major indexes of U. S. stocks have been mixed this week, with the Dow and the S & P 500 falling for the fourth straight week. The Nasdaq rose 1.1%, the first rise in four weeks. The market continues to pay attention to the global epidemic situation and the prospect of a new round of fiscal stimulus in the United States.

On Friday, the Dow closed up 358.52 points, or 1.34%, at 27173.96; the Nasdaq was up 241.30 points, or 2.26%, at 10913.56; and the S & P 500 was up 51.87, or 1.60%, at 3298.46.

This week, the Dow is down 1.7%, the S & P 500 is down 0.6%, and the Nasdaq is up 1.1%.

Us stocks have fluctuated in recent weeks amid investor concerns about the coronavirus epidemic, the US presidential election, the pace of economic recovery and the next round of fiscal stimulus.

"We are in a transitional phase," said Matt Orton, a portfolio expert at Carillon Tower Advisers. Looking back at the market in June and July, we experienced a similar correction, and it took a while for the market to gain a foothold after some important catalytic factors emerged. "

"there is more and more uncertainty in the market, and there are no other positive factors," he said. Therefore, I tend to describe this period as a bit of indigestion in the market. "

Matt Orton added: "the stock market has really risen too high, too high." We have only just done a little corrective process to eliminate the bubble caused by the rapid rise of the information technology sector. At present, the lack of catalytic factors in the market, the profit season is approaching, the stock market is likely to continue to sort out sideways. "

On the economic data side, the monthly rate of durable goods orders excluding transportation products in the United States was 0.4% in August, down sharply from 3.2% last month and below market expectations of 1.2%, adding to fears that the US economic recovery is stagnant.

The epidemic in Europe rebounded and the number of infections in many countries surged.

In recent weeks, European countries have been trying to control the rapid spread of the coronavirus epidemic.

Some of Europe's largest economies have reported a surge in new cases. Among European countries, Germany has always been regarded as a model for fighting the epidemic, but since the end of July this year, the positive diagnosis rate of coronavirus in Germany has continued to rise. As of September 24, there were 2134 new confirmed cases in Germany compared with the previous day, the highest number of new cases in a single day since April 25. At present, there are more than 278000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Germany.

The situation in the UK is even more serious. 6634 new confirmed cases of coronavirus were reported in the UK on September 24, the highest number of new cases in a single day since the outbreak. Cluster infections have also broken out at a number of British universities since the start of the fall. At least 124 people have been infected and more than 600 students are quarantining at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

British Prime Minister Johnson admitted that the second wave of the epidemic is inevitable and that Britain has reached a dangerous turning point.

France reported a record 16096 new cases in a single day on Thursday.

In addition, the situation in Spain, Italy and other countries is not optimistic. Spain is the country with the largest number of new deaths reported daily in the second wave of coronavirus outbreaks in European countries.

Dr. Dorit Nitzan, regional emergency director for Europe of the World Health Organization, said that as of September 7, the average number of new confirmed coronavirus cases in Europe was more than 300000 per week, exceeding the weekly increase in March at the peak of the first wave of outbreaks in Europe, and more than half of European countries reported a 10 per cent increase in cases in the past three weeks.

With regard to the epidemic in the United States, according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University, as of 14:40 est (02:40 Beijing time on the 26th), the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States has exceeded 7 million, bringing the total to 7005746. More than 200000 deaths. After reaching 6 million cases in the United States, the number of coronavirus cases exceeded 7 million in less than a month. As school starts in some areas and returns to school, confirmed cases may surge.

Us fiscal stimulus has attracted attention, and the Federal Reserve has reiterated the need for additional fiscal support

Fed monetary policy makers have called on Congress to pass another fiscal stimulus bill in a louder tone, but the window of opportunity for fiscal stimulus approval is closing ahead of the November presidential election.

On Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell reiterated his conclusion that "additional fiscal support measures are likely to be needed" and reiterated that interest rates will be kept low until the labor market fully recovers or inflation rises to 2%. This has prompted people to expect more easing.

As for the Fed's existing tools, Powell said that the Fed will eventually shrink its balance sheet, but will not do so in the near future, and he does not agree with the view that "the Fed has bought bad loans." So far, the Fed has bought very little non-investment grade bonds.

Rosengren, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, said on Thursday that while the central bank may increase asset purchases to try to support the economy, he is "not sure whether fiscal policy will provide the same support. "

House Democratic officials said House Democrats had begun drafting a stimulus bill worth about $2.4 trillion for possible negotiations with Republicans in the White House and Senate.

The Democratic stimulus package is smaller than the more than $3 trillion they had previously sought, but it is still far higher than the nearly $1 trillion that Senate Republicans say they can accept.

Analysts point out that the $2.4 trillion bailout plan is much higher than what Senate Republicans say they are willing to accept, but is closer to the $1.5 trillion plan supported by the president.

Calls for more fiscal action by policymakers this week appear to be gaining momentum. In early August, formal negotiations between leaders of the two parties broke down and an agreement could not be reached.

But House Speaker Pelosi, a Democrat, and Finance Secretary Nuchin all said they were eager to return to the negotiating table. "the question is whether the willingness of the two sides to openly express their willingness to engage in dialogue will translate into actual dialogue," German analysts said on Friday. "

First-time claims for unemployment benefits climbed to 870000 last week, below market expectations, indicating that pressure on the labor market remains high in the absence of federal unemployment benefits, the Labor Department reported on Thursday.

Stimulus measures reached an impasse, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Goldman Sachs Group downgraded US economic growth forecasts

JPMorgan Chase & Co joined the Goldman Sachs Group Group of economists, who also lowered their forecasts for US economic growth in the coming months due to the failure of Republicans and Democrats to reach a new round of fiscal stimulus deal.

Michael Feroli, chief US economist of JPMorgan Chase & Co, wrote in a report: "our chances of getting an additional stimulus of $1 million to $1.5 trillion are further decreasing, which still seems quite likely in July. "

Although House Speaker Pelosi and Finance Minister Mnuchin said on Thursday that they were open to resuming package negotiations that had stalled since early August, there was no sign that either side was ready to change its recent negotiating position.

"the figures discussed today show that there is still a big gap between the two sides," Feroli said. He also pointed out that it is still possible to finally reach an agreement.

JPMorgan Chase & Co now expects the economy to grow at an annualised rate of 2.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020, down from an earlier estimate of 3.5 per cent. The bank also cut first-quarter growth to 2 per cent from 2.5 per cent.

Economist Goldman Sachs Group halved his forecast for US economic growth in the fourth quarter, saying that further fiscal stimulus measures would not be implemented until next year. Goldman Sachs Group researchers, led by Jan Hatzius, expect US GDP to grow at an annualised rate of 3 per cent in the fourth quarter, down from a previous forecast of 6 per cent.

"it is clear that it will be difficult for Congress to introduce fiscal stimulus measures in the near future, which means that any further fiscal support is likely to wait until 2021," they said. "

They believe that after the stimulus expires, Americans' disposable income will fall to pre-epidemic levels, and consumer spending is expected to come under pressure. Given the prospect of a slowdown in consumer spending, Goldman Sachs Group expects the US economy to contract by 3.5 per cent this year and grow by 5.8 per cent in 2021.

Focus stocks

Cruise plates such as Norwegian Cruises, Carnival Cruises and Royal Caribbean Cruises are generally higher.

European bank stocks such as Barclays, Credit Suisse, UBS and HSBC Holdings PLC fell.

Costco Wholesale Corp recorded high expenditure related to the epidemic for the second consecutive quarter.

Novavax announced the launch of phase III vaccine research for a health event vaccine in the UK.

Europe's aviation safety regulator said the ban on 737 MAX flights could be lifted in November. The head of safety at the European Aviation Safety Agency said technical approval for the Boeing 737 MAX was expected around November and that it could take longer to obtain permission for each airline to operate.

VIA Optronics U.S. IPO, priced at $15 / ADS, will issue 6.25 million shares.

EU countries have agreed to pay AstraZeneca PLC 2.50 euros per dose of coronavirus vaccine, ordering a total of 400 million doses and paying a non-refundable down payment of 336 million euros.

Novavax announced the launch of phase III trials of a health event vaccine in the UK.

Bristol-Myers Bristol-Myers Squibb Co has achieved positive results in phase III clinical trials of the bladder cancer drug Opdivo.

Harley-Davidson is said to be in talks with Indian Hero Motors to continue to sell its motorcycles in India in a distribution model.

Other markets

European stocks fell generally on Friday, with Germany's DAX down 1.17% at 12459.70, France's CAC40 down 0.69% at 4729.66, Spain's IBEX35 down 0.17% at 6632.00, Italy's FTSE down 1.09% at 18700.50 and the European Stoxx 50 down 0.71% at 3137.25.

Gold futures closed lower on Friday. Gold prices have fallen on 4 days in the past five trading days, making gold prices record their biggest weekly decline in about half a year this week.

Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, said: "the main reason for the decline in gold futures prices this week is the strengthening of the dollar. Gold is traded in dollars, and the recent strengthening of the dollar has made gold more expensive for traders using foreign currencies.

The dollar index (DXY) rose 0.3 per cent at the close of the gold futures market on Friday. The dollar index is up about 1.8% this week.

Aslam said that the Fed's "monetary policy confusion led to a rise in the dollar index, which magnified the weakness of gold prices." "

Gold futures for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $10.60, or 0.6%, to close at $1866.30 an ounce, the lowest closing price in two months. Gold futures prices fell 4.9% this week, the biggest weekly decline since the week of March 13.

December silver futures fell 10 cents, or 0.4%, to close at $23.093 an ounce, the lowest closing price since late July. Silver futures fell 14.9% this week, also the biggest weekly decline since March 13.

Crude oil futures prices closed slightly lower on Friday. Crude oil futures fell this week. Despite some signs of tight crude supplies and a second week of decline in US crude stocks, the surge in coronavirus cases has raised concerns about weak demand for crude oil.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: "the crude oil market is very sensitive to the health of the world economy. There are already signs that the economic recovery is cooling before the recent surge in European coronavirus cases. "

Meanwhile, data released by Baker Hughes on Friday showed that the number of active crude oil drilling in the United States increased by four last week to 183, the first increase in three weeks.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for November delivery fell 6 cents, or nearly 0.2%, to $40.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In terms of the most active contracts, the price of WTI contracts has fallen 2.6 per cent this week.

Brent crude for November delivery by Intercontinental Exchange Inc in London fell 2 cents, or 0.05%, to close at $41.92 a barrel. December Brent crude oil futures fell 5 cents, or 0.1%, to close at $42.41 a barrel.

Brent crude futures are down 2.9 per cent this week, based on the most active contracts.