Stocks end mixed as economic damage piles up

Stocks wobbled to a mixed finish on Wall Street Thursday following more evidence that the pandemic is tightening its grip on the economy.

Meanwhile, efforts in Congress to supply more financial support to people and businesses remain stuck.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1%. Treasury yields fell following a worse-than-expected report on unemployment claims.

It’s the latest reminder that the pandemic is doing more damage to the economy in the near term, even if prospects are rising that a COVID-19 vaccine will get the economy healthy in the longer term.

Energy stocks, which often move with expectations for the economy’s strength, were climbing to the biggest gain among the 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500, at 2.6%. They rose with crude oil prices.

Starbucks gained 5.3% for one of the bigger gains in the index after the coffee chain backed its profit forecast for this fiscal year and said it expects “outsized growth” in the following one.

But industrial companies, whose stocks have been been tracking hopes for the economy, fell, as did the majority of stocks in the S&P 500.

The choppiness in the market is not unheard of, considering the stellar gains for stocks in November and uncertainty still lingering over the timing of vaccine distribution as virus cases rise, Christopher said.

Elsewhere in the market, shares of Airbnb soared about 140% in their stock market debut. Interest has been high for the home sharing company, which has seen its business recover faster through the pandemic than hotels have.

A day earlier, another San Francisco-based company, DoorDash, soared nearly 86% in the first day of trading for its stock.