Markets little changed, poised for “good end to 2020”

Markets were mostly little changed on Thursday.

The S&P 500 dipped less than 0.1 percent and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2 percent. The STOXX Europe 600 was flat.

While the S&P 500 pulled away slightly from the record high set on Wednesday, Ally Invest’s chief investment strategist Lindsey Bell told CNBC on Wednesday that with more fiscal stimulus expected and resilient consumer spending, “it will be a good end to 2020” for stocks.

Similarly, Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income, said that US government stimulus and Federal Reserve monetary policy are helping cushion the economy from the impact of COVID-19 and that “the economy will be supportive for markets for some time”.