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* Quadruple witching could push up volumes, volatility
* All three major indexes set for weekly gains
* Retail stocks gain on prospect of strong holiday demand
* Tesla rises in high-volume trade
* Indexes down: Dow 0.26%, S&P 0.29%, Nasdaq 0.07%
(Updates to market open)
By Ambar Warrick and Shreyashi Sanyal
Dec 18 (Reuters) - Wall Street retreated from record highs
on Friday as a coronavirus stimulus deal remained in focus ahead
of a weekend deadline, while Tesla shares hit their highest in
anticipation of their addition to the S&P 500 next week.
All the three major indexes hit a record high at the open,
before retreating.
Markets are likely to see increased trading volumes in the
day due to the expiration of stock index futures, stock index
options, stock options and single stock futures at the end of
trade, also known as quadruple witching.
Electric-car maker Tesla Inc TSLA.O rose 2% to a record
high, seeing massive trading volumes as it becomes the most
valuable company ever added to Wall Street's main benchmark
index. "The market is a little bit skeptical because the stopwatch
is on and time is running out, people want to see the deal
actually inked," said Thomas Hayes, managing member at Great
Hill Capital in New York.
Retail stocks such as Kohl's Corp KSS.N and Macy's Inc
M.N rose more than 3% each after the National Retail
Federation flagged the possibility of high pre-Christmas demand.
"The stimulus getting approved would be bullish for the
retail sector ... the vast majority of that money will go right
into holiday shopping, on expectations of receiving stimulus
checks even if they come after Christmas," Hayes added.
At 9:58 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 79.83 points, or 0.26%, at 30,223.54, the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 10.86 points, or 0.29%, at 3,711.62. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 9.02 points, or 0.07%, at 12,755.73.
Bipartisan lawmakers said on Thursday the COVID-19
pandemic's worsening toll meant that failure to agree on new
stimulus was no longer an option.
Dismal retail sales data and unemployment claims through the
week were also seen as furthering the case for more stimulus.
The prospect of continued monetary and fiscal stimulus has
helped stocks look past the economic impact of the pandemic, and
set them up for strong annual gains, despite a rocky start to
the year.
Wall Street indexes were set to end the week higher, with
the Nasdaq .IXIC set to outperform its peers with a more than
3% gain on sustained buying into technology stocks.
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O shed 0.6% after the tech major said
it found malicious software in its systems related to a massive
hacking campaign disclosed by U.S. officials this week.
FedEx Corp FDX.N fell 3.4% after the package delivery
company declined to give an earnings forecast for 2021, even as
its quarterly profit almost doubled. Rival United Parcel Service Inc's UPS.N shares also
declined 1.1%.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.02-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.27-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 27 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 185 new highs and three new lows.