It was a week of competing narratives in stock markets.
A frenzy in IPO markets and encouraging news about coronavirus vaccines buoyed sentiment at times. But the possibility of a no-deal Brexit combined with disappointing unemployment claims numbers and the continued lack of new stimulus from Washington have stocks lower for the week.
Some good news on Friday should limit the damage. A surge in Disney (NYSE:DIS) shares after the company's investor day helped the Dow Industrials (NYSEARCA:DIA) into positive territory for the day. Consumer sentiment rose more than expected. Crude oil prices (CO1:COM) rebounded, topping $50 per barrel for the first time since March.
Winners & Losers
IPOs were the main winner. Shares of Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) doubled on their first day of trading. DoorDash (NYSE:DASH) was up 78% from its initial pricing, though both stocks have since given back some of those gains.
Otherwise, there was some consolidation in the market with few thematic moves to differentiate sectors. But eight of the 10 best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:SPY) were energy names: Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) shares are up 30% on the week, while Apache Corp (NASDAQ:APA) is up 20%.
Losers were mostly defensive names perhaps as investors rotated into riskier parts of the market. Several REITS performed poorly: Crown Castle International (NYSE:CCI) are down 6% for the week. AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) has dropped by 5%. Utilities also lost ground, with the Utilities Select SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLU) down 1.4% for the week at the time of this writing.
Not all parts of the energy sector were higher. CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) shares are down 4.3% since the open on Monday. Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) is down more than 5%.
Other losers were Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC), down 4.7%, and Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM), off 5.1%.
What Caught Our Eye(s) This Week

Kim: JPMorgan doubles down on bearish Tesla thesis;

Brad: S&P 500's dividends 'attractive' and mispriced heading into 2021, Goldman Sachs says;

Stephen: ARK Innovation (NYSEARCA:ARKK) tops active ETFs with $15.5B in total assets;

Nat: NYC Exodus coverage, with Moelis and Goldman among the latest Wall Street firms to move (or consider moving) to Florida.

About This Podcast
Alpha TALKS Wall Street Breakfast is a weekly roundtable covering what moved markets this week (WMMTW), featuring a panel of Seeking Alpha editors.
Hosted by Nathaniel E. Baker, Senior Editor, Strategic Contributors, and featuring:

Bradley Olesen, VP News;

Kim Khan, Senior News Editor;

Stephen Alpher, Managing Editor News, co-host of Seeking Alpha's Alpha Trader podcast.


AlphaTALKS videos, featuring highlights of this podcast, publish every Friday by close of trading. Watch this week's here.
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