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Stocks slid from record highs in volatile trading on Friday as lawmakers struggled to bridge disparities on additional measures to stimulate the coronavirus.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 124.32 points, or 0.4%, to 30,179.05. At its session low, the 30-stock benchmark lost more than 270 points. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% or 13.07 points to 3,709.41 while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.1% or 9.11 points to 12,755.64. All three indices hit new intraday highs earlier in the day after the records close in the previous session.

Leaders on Capitol Hill said they were on the verge of an agreement that would provide $ 900 billion in additional aid. The month-long talks are about to begin, and federal funds will run out on Saturday at 12:01 a.m. ET.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Said Friday that negotiations “remain productive”. “In fact, I am even more optimistic now than last night that a bipartisan, bicameral framework for a major bailout is very close,” he added.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Said that afternoon that the Chamber would be on hiatus until 5 p.m. while leaders of Congress try to get a “clearer picture” of how to move forward. He urged representatives to keep Friday evenings, Saturday and Sunday free.

Last-minute disputes preventing Congress from passing an aid agreement include direct payments, small business loans and an increase in unemployment insurance.

Big volume

The stock market saw massive volume on Friday as Tesla’s historic entry into the S&P 500 will be based on close of trading prices. There has been a rush of activity on the final bell and the S&P 500 will start trading with Tesla as a member on Monday.

With a market cap of more than $ 600 billion after rallying 700% this year, the electric car maker is named the 7th largest company in the index.

Tesla is added to the benchmark in one fell swoop, marking the biggest realignment of the S&P 500 in history. It is estimated that passive funds tracking the S&P 500 will need to buy more than $ 85 billion of Tesla, while $ 85 billion of the rest of the index will need to be sold to make room for it.

Tesla shares rose up to 4%, hitting an all-time high on Friday before closing just 0.4% higher. More than 181 million shares of Tesla changed hands, quadrupling the average 30-day volume.

Several large exchange-traded funds such as Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which mirrors the Nasdaq 100, are being rebalanced alongside the S&P 500 Friday.

Meanwhile, Tesla’s inclusion coincides with a quarterly event known as Quadruple Sorcery, when options and futures expire on indices and stocks. Many expect Friday to be one of the busiest trading days of the year.

Winner Week

The main averages posted gains for the week despite Friday’s weakness. The Dow was up 0.4% for the week. while the S&P 500 was up 1.3% in its fourth positive week in five years. The tech-heavy Nasdaq outperformed the week, up 3.1%.

Shares rose earlier this week on optimism about a stimulus deal and the launch of the vaccine. On Thursday evening, Food and Drug Administration advisors overwhelmingly backed Moderna’s Covid vaccine, a major step towards FDA approval for public distribution. The first vaccinations in the US were given on Monday with the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech.

Investors are betting that an increase in Covid cases and disappointing economic data would force lawmakers to cement a new aid package. Unemployment claims reached their highest level since early September last week, while retail sales fell more than expected in November.

“The bad news this week is that the third wave is worsening and the economic damage from the pandemic continues to worsen,” said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Financial Network. “The good news is that policymakers are starting to contain the virus and the federal government is likely to put in place a stimulus package that will mitigate both of the main risk factors.”

McMillan said investors should expect higher volatility in the short term amid developments in the stimulus and vaccines space before the economy returns to growth in 2021. “With vaccines now available and rampant, we are at the end of the start of the pandemic and the markets are realizing that,” he added.

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Shares traded higher on Tuesday as Congress resumed negotiations on another economic bailout package and rolled out Covid-19 vaccines across the country.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 100 points, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 was up 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.7%.

Apple led the Dow up 3.5% after Nikkei reported the company will increase iPhone production by about 30% in the first half of 2021. Technology and energy were the top performing sectors in the S&P 500, up 1.2% each.

Legislators released the latest proposal for another round of economic relief on Monday evening, splitting an earlier bipartisan proposal into two parts.

The new plan sees $ 748 billion in spending on programs popular on both sides of the aisle, including an additional $ 300 a week on federal unemployment benefits and another $ 300 billion on more under-line loans of the paycheck protection program.

A second $ 160 billion bill would cover the more controversial areas of corporate liability protection and financial assistance to state and local governments.

In addition, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discussed the stimulus proposal and broader government funding negotiations on Monday evening, Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hammill said on Twitter. The couple “discussed the urgency of the committees to finish their work as soon as possible,” said Hammill.

The most recent move towards a business cycle deal is for investors and Americans as a whole to grapple with bleak near-term prospects but prospects for economic growth and the possible end of the pandemic in 2021.

The first round of shooting with the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was conducted in the United States on Monday. However, according to the Johns Hopkins University, the country has also recorded 300,000 deaths from Covid-19. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio also warned residents that a complete shutdown might be needed to protect the city’s hospitals.

Luke Tilley, chief economist at Wilmington Trust, said another stimulus package was needed to keep the economic recovery from stalling before the vaccine can be distributed.

“With cases continuing to rise and mass vaccinations that are still ongoing, we could see further weakness in jobs and even a flattening where we’re not creating any new jobs at all … that’s absolutely an opportunity for this next job report. ” Said Tilley. “And if we didn’t get another stimulus package, 10 to 11 million people would immediately fall off the unemployed list, and that would also weigh on spending.”

On Tuesday morning, the Food and Drug Administration announced that Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine data is in line with emergency expectations, a crucial step ahead of full approval. If the FDA gives the vaccine the green light, it will be the second after Pfizer to be approved for use in the United States. Moderna shares were down 3.4%.

The move in stocks follows a mixed session on Monday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and small-cap Russell 2000 rising, while the S&P 500 and Dow falling. The S&P 500’s 0.4% decline was the fourth consecutive negative day.

Despite the recent weakness in the S&P 500 and the Dow, the three major indices are trading near record highs that have risen sharply for the year. David Waddell, chief investment strategist at wealth advisory firm Waddell and Associates, said this could mitigate the normally bullish seasonal trend for stocks.

“We might have a little Santa Claus rally already,” said Waddell. “Ordinarily the markets would accelerate from here until the end of the year, and they could do it again, but the run has been so strong that I would not be surprised, and actually I would prefer the market to consolidate its gains. A. . little bit.”

The Federal Reserve will begin its two-day December meeting on Tuesday with a policy statement and press conference for Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday.

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