Peter Nurse   

According to Investing.com, U.S. stocks opened mixed Friday. There are concerns that Covid-19 infected cyclicals could be a problem despite positive quarterly earnings seasons.

The contract fell 175 points or 0.5% at 7:05 am ET (1105 GMT), while it was outperformed by a gain of 65 points or 0.4%,

Wall Street was agitated by news Friday about the possibility that the country of western Europe will impose an entire coronavirus lockdown in order to combat a new wave. This is amid concerns this could soon spread across the Atlantic.

Austria announced Friday it would require that its entire population be vaccinated by February. This is something America wouldn’t be able to do. 

Europe appears to be the epicenter of the new wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, with Germany, Europe’s largest economy, recording a record number of cases on Thursday, and also refusing to rule out a new lockdown. 

However, major indexes still remain below their highest levels due to positive quarterly earnings seasons. Refinitiv reports that more than 90% reported for the third quarter and that over 80% reported better earnings than anticipated. 

Refinitiv analysis for 3394 global companies worth at least $1bn suggests record-breaking corporate dividends. This means that total payouts to shareholders will be approximately $1.37 trillion by 2021.

Elsewhere in the United States, the U.S. House of Representatives has been scheduled to vote on the Democratic Party’s $2 trillion spending plan later Friday. 

Although Friday’s economic data agenda is sparse, Federal Reserve officials Christopher Waller (Federal Reserve) and Richard Clarida will speak at a later session. 

The number of corporate earnings releases has fallen. Now, attention will be on Apple (NASDAQ) following Bloomberg News’ report that Apple, the tech company best known for its iPhones, wants to release its electric car in 2025.

Crude prices plunged to 7-week lows on Friday as Austria’s move to restore a full lockdown raised worries about another Covid-fueled spike in demand.

Futures were trading 3.3% lower at $75.83 per barrel by 7:05 am ET. This is a drop of nearly 5%. Contract prices fell 3.5%, to $78.38. That’s down more than 3%. 

Also, the price rose 0.2% at $1,864.10/oz and traded 0.6% less at 1.1296.