Stocks shot up after Republican congressional leaders pulled the American Health Care Act from what looked almost certain to be a failed vote Friday.
All three major indices were tumbling lower near the end of the day, ahead of the scheduled vote. However, immediately after it was announced that the bill was pulled, stocks shot back up.
The Nasdaq finished up for the day, the S&P 500 was little changed, and the Dow was slightly in the red.
First up, the scoreboard:
- Dow: 20,596.72, -59.86, (-0.29%)
- S&P 500: 2,343.98, -1.98, (-0.08%)
- Nasdaq: 5,828.74, +11.04, (+0.19%)
- US 10-year yield: 2.418, -0.000
- WTI Crude: $48.10, +0.40, (+0.84%)
1. The GOP leadership has pulled the American Health Care Act from what looked almost certain to be a failed vote Friday. The move came as it became more clear that Republicans did not have enough votes to pass their bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.
2. The company behind the Keystone Pipeline just got a presidential permit to go ahead. The move overturns President Barack Obama's rejection of the $8 billion project. Following a wave of protests from environmentalists, Obama said the project was against the long-term interests of the US.
3. Russia's central bank cut rates. The bank lowered its one-week repo rate by 25 basis points to 9.75% from 10.00%, and suggested that more cuts could be coming this year.
4. GameStop tanks after missing on sales and signaling it will close some stores this year. In its earnings release, the video-game retailer said its core category was weak, especially in the second half of last year, as the console cycle aged with a dearth of new hardware releases.
5. US oil rig count jumped for the 10th straight week, according to Baker Hughes. The US oil-rig count spiked by 21 to 652 this week — the highest total count since the week of September 11, 2015. The gas-rig count fell by two to 155.
6. Bitcoin fell below $1,000. Aggressive selling on Friday morning had the cryptocurrency down 4.1% at $987 a coin as traders remain uneasy over its near-term outlook.
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