Wall Street Roars Higher Amid Civil Unrest

Investors weighed a mixed bag of jobs data

The U.S. faced a tumultuous week as the country quickly turned its attention from U.S.-China relations to civil unrest, as protests against police brutality began in all fifty states following the death of George Floyd. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are all working toward a third straight week of wins, while the Nasdaq nabbed a record high on Friday. As the market held on to its tunnelvision towards the easing of lockdowns, investors also unpacked mixed economic data in terms of jobs data and employment rates.

Busy Week Amid Reopening Wave

Though the issue of paying rent and the sales fallout is still at hand for many businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic, companies reopening across the country continues to generate positive economic buzz. Due to this, many are changing their tune from "social distancing stocks" back to reopening stocks such as Planet Fitness (PLNT). Similarly, in the travel sector, airlines such as United Airlines (UAL) have started to add dates for international flights. Coty (COTY) headed into the week naming a new CEO, with recent news spotlighting a potential deal. Elsewhere in the M&A world, Zynga (ZNGA) stock soared on a billion-dollar acquisition.

Tech Stocks Stay Relevant

Despite the reopening buzz, stay-at-home staple Zoom (ZM) nabbed a series of bull notes after earnings, while another popular coronavirus stock, Chewy (CHWY), jumped even higher on the charts. Other tech stocks jumped into the scene as well, as Ciena (CIEN) found startling highs after a rebound, while Slack Technologies (WORK) picked up a new analyst rating. Meanwhile, Twitter (TWTR) had a surge in the options pits, and Google (GOOGL) postponed its android reveal in lieu of the protests.

As the Stock Market's Rebound and Protests Continue

Next week, Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) economic projections and latest interest rate decision will be on the radar, with a press conference from Fed Chair Jerome Powell to follow. After the SPX's recent rebound, Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White points out a key trendline to follow in the coming weeks. Also, as protests continue country-wide, it is interesting to note how the stock market has reacted, historically.