August 28, 2020 at 10:07 AM EDT
Stocks rise with Friday’s hopeful market open
U.S. stocks rose at market open Friday, building on more than a week of record-setting heights as investors reacted to well-performing tech companies and hope for an economic recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial average opened up nearly 62 points, or 0.2 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index opened up nine points, or nearly 0.3 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was up about 62 points, or 0.5 percent.
Analysts expect the Dow to erase all of its losses for 2020, after the coronavirus pandemic brought on a recession and introduced volatility to markets dependent on vaccine developments, corporate earnings and future economic recovery. The S&P 500’s 6 percent rally in August — the index’s best August since 1986, CNBC reported — and weeks of milestones by the Nasdaq were buoyed by climbing shares from tech companies such as Apple, Facebook and Amazon. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
As the market’s monster month wraps up, investors are hopeful the gains will continue into the fall. But they’re also keeping an eye on how the expiration of coronavirus-related aid, such as the $1,200 stimulus checks and $600 weekly unemployment benefits, will impact consumer spending.
Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist for MUFG, isn’t hopeful the back-to-school rush will sustain itself, and Americans’ personal income could determine the course of economic recovery in the coming months.
“The consumer is back spending at the shops and malls in July, but many of their purchases reflected pent-up demand following the pandemic lockdown, and the expenditures needed to fuel the economy’s recovery in August are a big question mark,” he said in an email. “Beware of August as no money coming in means no money going out.”
By Hannah Denham