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The Dow Jones today could see a rebound from yesterday's downturn. Housing starts have jumped more than 18% year over year for the period. More on this below.
Markets are hoping for a breakthrough in the biotech sector as COVID-19 cases continue to rise. Let's get into everything moving the Dow Jones now...
First, here are the numbers from Thursday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
| Index | Previous Close | Point Change | Percentage Change |
| Dow Jones | 26,734.71 | -135.39 | -0.50 |
| S&P 500 | 3,215.57 | -10.99 | -0.34 |
| Nasdaq | 10,473.83 | -76.66 | -0.73 |
Now let's take a look at what I consider to be the most important market events to start your day.
The Top Stock Market Stories for Friday
Investors anticipating a rebound for the cruise industry must wait a while longer. The CDC has extended a no-sale order from July 24 to at least September 2020. Shares of Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL), Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: NCLH), and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) were facing pressure on Friday morning.
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- On the coronavirus front, the United States has topped 3.5 million cases as the nation added 77,000 new cases on Thursday. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious disease expert, is urging young Americans to socially distance themselves and wear masks. The average age of new coronavirus patients has dropped by 15 years since the pandemic started. Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed disappointment in U.S. President Donald Trump's handling of this crisis. In a conversation with Dr. Fauci over a live stream, Zuckerberg said the White House has undermined the efforts of the CDC and the "credibility of top scientists."
- Finally, the housing market is showing strong growth. This morning, the U.S. government reported that housing starts registered at 1.186 million for June. That figure topped expectations and represented a more than 18.2% jump from the same period last year. The housing market has been surging with the 30-year interest rate now sitting under 3%. That figure is the lowest since Freddie Mac began keeping track of the data.
Stocks to Watch Today: NFLX, TSLA, LYFT
- Shares of Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) were off 10% this morning after the company fell short of Wall Street expectations for the second quarter. The firm reported earnings per share of $1.59 on top of $6.15 billion in revenue. Wall Street had expected a better profit figure of $1.81 per share. The firm beat revenue expectations of $6.08 billion. The company also announced that it has promoted its CCO to become the new co-CEO, a new position that splits power with the current CEO Reed Hastings.
- Lyft Inc. (NYSE: LYFT) announced it will distribute at least 60,000 vehicle partition shields to drivers across the country. The company is providing these customer barriers to their most active drivers in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The firm said it will sell the partitions at cost (about $50) and without any markup in price. The company has required that customers and drivers both wear masks, a policy that has been in place since May.
- Shares of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) are off again this morning after the company said that new vehicle registrations fell by nearly 50% in California during the second quarter. The ongoing COVID-19 outbreak has impacted the company's sales and production. The stock has pulled back sharply in recent days after a huge run during the first half of July.
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About the Author
Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, and consultant with degrees from Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Purdue, and Indiana University. He is a seasoned financial and political risk analyst, with a focus on stocks, hedge funds, private equity, blockchain, and housing policy. He has conducted risk assessment projects for clients in 27 countries, and consulted on policy and financial operations for some of the nation's largest financial institutions, including a $1.5 trillion credit fund, a $43 billion credit and auto loan giant, as well as two of the largest Wall Street banks by assets under management.
Garrett joined Money Map Press as an economist and researcher in 2011, specializing in alternative strategies with an emphasis on fundamental and technical analysis.