Stocks slipped lower on Friday as market sentiment remains cautious towards the coronavirus pandemic and nervously looked ahead towards a Federal Reserve meeting next week.
Benchmarks also ended the week lower amid the September slump, with the Dow losing 0.1% for its third week of declines, the S&P 500 falling 0.6% for its second negative week in a row, and the Nasdaq slipping by 0.5%.
Here's how the market settled to close out the week:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Moderna vaccine is slightly more effective at preventing hospitalization, says CDC:
Moderna's
Overall, the CDC found that Moderna's vaccine was 93% effective in preventing COVID hospitalizations during the period of March 11 to August 15, while the Pfizer-BioNTech shot was 88% effective and J&J vaccine was 71% effective.
However, Moderna's vaccine remained 92% effective against hospitalization after 120 days, while the the Pfizer-BioNTech shot decreased to 77% effectiveness. There was no similar calculation for the J&J shot, but the CDC noted that efficacy slipped to 68% more than 28 days after inoculation.
Consumer sentiment ticks higher in September from August's decade-low:
Consumer sentiment improved slightly in early September after reaching its lowest level since 2011 in August, according to the University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers preliminary reading on Friday.
The headline index ticked up to 71.0 for the first half of September, increasing from August's final reading of 70.3. However, consensus economists had expected September's reading to bump up to 72.0.
"The steep August falloff in consumer sentiment ended in early September, but the small gain still meant that consumers expected the least favorable economic prospects in more than a decade," said Richard Curtin, chief economist for the Surveys of Consumers, in a press statement. "The decline in assessments of buying conditions for homes, vehicles, and household durables left all three near all-time record lows, with the declines due to spontaneous references to high prices."
Ford to invest, add jobs to increase all-electric F-150 Lightning production:
Ford
The company plans to invest an additional $250 million and add 450 jobs across three Michigan facilities to double annual production capacity for the flagship EV truck model to 80,000 units. Ford has already invested roughly $950 million into the production of both the hybrid and all-electric F-150 pickup truck models.
"We knew the F-150 Lightning was special, but the interest from the public has surpassed out highest expectations and changed the conversation around electric vehicles. So we are doubling down, adding jobs and investment to increase production," said Ford Chair Bill Ford in a press statement.
Here's how benchmarks started trading soon after opening bell:
S&P 500 Index: -0.09% or -4.01 points to 4,469.74
Dow Jones Industrial Average: -0.04% or -13.46 points to 34,737.86
Nasdaq Composite Index: -0.12% or -18.56 points to 15,163.36
