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* Disney falls after overcoming results
* PayPal increases as brokers increase after investors day
* Energy stocks are declining as oil prices fall on demand
* Indices: Dow flat, S&P 0.17%, Nasdaq 0.16% (add budget, details; update prices)
Feb 12 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 rose on Friday, recovering from early weakness as financial and material stocks gained ground as investors resisted signs of progress on the next batch of tax aid.
Equity stocks outperformed large-cap growth stocks as investors favored names that would likely benefit from a reopened economy.
Major stock indices had opened lower, weighed down by heavyweights Apple Inc., Tesla Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. The main averages continue to go to the second consecutive weekly gain.
Lipper data on Thursday afternoon showed U.S.-based equity funds attracted $ 22.9 billion a week on Wednesday, the highest weekly entry since March 2008.
U.S. stock markets will close on Monday due to the presidents ’holiday.
“Most of those sales have proven to be just a few profits to see how the market returns from any short-term sale,” said Rick Meckler, a partner at Cherry Lane Investments, a family investment firm in New Vernon, New Jersey. .
“Low interest rates, stimulus and improvement on the virus front provide more confidence for investors to stay in the market and buy more.”
A sharp drop in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks have also led markets to all-time highs. However, many analysts have warned of a short-term decline amid risks from new coronavirus variants and possible bumps in vaccine distribution.
The latest data showed that US consumer sentiment fell unexpectedly in early February, as households remained concerned about the economy despite expectations of an additional fiscal stimulus.
A Reuters poll showed that the U.S. economy is expected to reach pre-COVID-19 levels in a year, as the proposed $ 1.9 trillion fiscal package helps boost economic activity , but it is likely that more than a year will pass before unemployment drops to early 2020 levels.
U.S. President Joe Biden will meet Friday with a bipartisan group of mayors and governors as he continues to push for approval of the strong relief plan.
Banking shares linked to the economy jumped around 1.3%, while energy, materials and industry also rose between 0.7% and 0.8%.
The small capitalization index is expected to rise by the fifth week of the full six weeks this year.
At 11:55 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5.54 points, or 0.02%, to 31,425.16, the S&P 500 gained 6.81 points, or 0.17%, to 3,923.19 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 22.48 points, or 0.16%, to 14,048.25. .
PayPal Holdings Inc. rose about 3.8% as several brokers raised stock price targets a day after the daily call to the payments company’s investor.
Walt Disney Co. reported a surprise quarterly profit. However, its shares fell 1.5% from the record high after surpassing 13% to the results of the last two weeks.
Dating app operator Bumble Inc gained 13%, a day after a stellar debut boosted its shares by more than 75%.
Tilray Inc. and Aphria Inc. gained 4% and 6% after nearly declining in the previous session.
Advanced emissions outperformed declines by a ratio of 1.3 to 1 on the NYSE and 1.4 to 1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 recorded 47 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 307 new highs and 22 new lows. (Report by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; edited by Maju Samuel)