By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- U.S. stock markets opened mostly lower on Friday, but were still on track for their highest ever weekly close against a backdrop of an improving public health picture and a $1.9 trillion stimulus package grinding its way through Congress without much dilution.
Stocks are also being supported by a broadly supportive earnings season. According to Refinitiv data, earnings per share for the S&P 500 is expected to have risen some 3.4% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, despite all the headwinds from the global pandemic. Excluding the energy sector, earnings growth is an even more respectable 7.3%. Still, the mood music from the economic data on Friday was downbeat, with the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment index falling by more than expected to its lowest level since October.
By 9:35 AM ET (1435 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 15 points, or less than 0.1%, while the S&P 500 was down by fractionally more and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.4%.
Among individual stocks, Bumble Inc (NASDAQ:BMBL) stock rose 4.0% on its second day of trading after a stellar debut for the dating site. Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) stock, however, failed to build on its premarket momentum after posting a return to profit in the three months through December. It fell 0.7%
Elsewhere, Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) stock tumbled after the company said it had delayed its latest test spaceflight. Another upsurge on speculation around Apple's purported ambitions in electric cars pushed battery technology group Quantumscape's (NYSE:QS) stock up 16%, its biggest move since a spike at the end of December. The same factor weighed on Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock, which fell 1.7%, below the $800 mark for the first time in two weeks. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) initiated coverage of both Quantumscape and EV specialist Fisker at Buy on Friday, with analyst Adam Jonas' $70 target for the former more than 55% above its Thursday closing level.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock was down 0.9%.
Volatility in cannabis stocks continued, with Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY) stock rising 7.9% after two straight heavy falls, while Sundial Growers (NASDAQ:SNDL) stock was down 6.5%. Aurora Cannabis (TSX:ACB) was down 3.9% was while Canopy Growth (NASDAQ:CGC) stock rose 1.6%.
The sector has been the latest to attract the attention of an army of retail investors congregated on social media. Most have enjoyed handsome gains since election day in November, when a number of down-ballot liberalization measures at state level were passed. The Democrats' subsequent gain of the Senate has also made sweeping federal reform more likely, while a liberalization law in Mexico got its first hearing in parliament two days ago.