US stocks end mixed session as investors fret additional COVID-19 restrictions

4:05 pm: Wall Street's mood changes as stock fall  US stocks fell in a mixed session as initial investor optimism about the vaccine rollout soured later in the day on news of additional COVID-19 restrictions.  The Dow and S&P 500 turned negative after New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio warned that the city could experience a “full shutdown” soon. Also driving sentiment is a congressional impasse over an aide package.  On the day, Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 184 points, or 0.62%, to 29,861. The S&P 500 declined 0.44% to 3,647 but the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.50% to 12,440.   12:05 pm: Wall Street moves higher on investor optimism US stocks traded higher midday Monday on investor optimism following the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and some movement forward in Congress on an aid package.  According to Reuters, a bipartisan stimulus plan would be split into two parts to improve its approval chances. The $908 billion plan would be sliced into a $748 billion measure with money for the jobless and small businesses and another part that includes liability protections and state aid. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 56 points, or 0.20%, to 30,107. The S&P 500 increased 0.36% to 3,676 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.15% to 12,519.   10.15 am: Proactive North America headlines: Energy Fuels Inc (TSE:EFR) (NYSEMKT:UUUU) announces entry into the commercial rare earth business with Chemours supply deal Heritage Cannabis Holdings Corp (CSE:CANN) (OTCQX:HERTF) receives inaugural order from Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis to sell its products in the province HighGold Mining Inc (CVE:HIGH) (OTCQX:HGGOF) consolidates ground at Munro-Croesus gold project into single strategic position with latest acquisition O3 Mining Inc (CVE:OIII) (OTCMKTS:OQMGF) set to further advance Garrison project as it delivers positive preliminary economic assessment Adastra Labs Holdings Ltd (CSE:XTRX) (FRA:D2EP) posts strong revenue growth in 3Q, thanks to ongoing cannabis processing relationship with CannMart Empower Clinics Inc (CSE:CBDT) (OTCQB:EPWCF) (FRA:8EC) flush with $5.5M from exercise of warrants; launches new corporate website Steppe Gold Limited (TSE:STGO) (FRA:2J9) unveils plans for secondary listing on Mongolian Stock Exchange KWESST Micro Systems Inc (CVE:KWE) wins follow-on order for about C$1.1M with a key US military customer to expand use of its TASCS IFM system Biocept Inc (NASDAQ:BIOC) (FRA:B003) receives 150,000 samples for COVID-19 testing; completes relocation MindMed (MindMed) Inc (NEO:MMED) (OTCQB:MMEDF) (FRA:MMQ) successfully completes pre-IND meeting with FDA on development of LSD-assisted therapy for an anxiety disorder 9.42am: Wall Street kicks off higher Wall Street’s main indices started the week on a positive note as optimism over a stimulus package and the start of a coronavirus (COVID-19) rollout across the US boosted equities. Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.67% to 30,247, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.58% to 3,684 and the Nasdaq was up 0.68% at 12,462. While the main indices were on the up, shares in tech giant and Google parent Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) were flat at around US$1,776 as the conglomerate suffered a service outage on its YouTube, Docs and Gmail platforms, although the core search engine is unaffected. Also having a rough morning was cinema chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC), which sank 11.7% to US$3.46 following Friday’s news that a US$100mln cash injection would only be enough for its to stave off bankruptcy until January. 7.40am: Wall Street to start on the front foot US indices are expected to regain their mojo as US lawmakers prepare to present a US$908bn stimulus package proposal later today. The Dow Jones industrial average, which of the big three indices was the only one to advance on Friday, is set to add 223 points to Friday’s gains at 30,269 when trading starts this afternoon. The broader-based S&P 500 is tipped to jump 26 points to 3,689 and the Nasdaq Composite is seen rising 67 points to 12,445. Craig Erlam, the senior market analyst, said there appears little prospect of the usual gentle easing off at the end of the year in 2020. “Negotiations [are] going right down to the wire both in Washington and Brussels, while the Fed is widely expected to provide fresh stimulus to see the economy through this brutal winter wave of Covid-19. Just as we enter the holiday season when families are going to celebrate together, the US is seeing record numbers of Covid cases and fatalities, and the trend doesn't appear to be slowing,” he noted. The US reported 191,000 new coronavirus (COVID-19) cases yesterday, up 8.7% week-on-week. The seven-day daily average increased to 214,000, which is a new high but the rate of increase does at least seem to be easing off. “If this continues, it could peak by the end of this week, as a result of the rolling patchwork of measures implemented across the country but a final spike is likely to be triggered by the holiday season,” warned Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “The trend in cases had peaked just before Thanksgiving, at about 176K cases per day. Assuming that trend would have continued, the holiday has triggered almost 320K excess cases, so far, which can be expected to result in just over 2K extra fatalities, other things equal “The test positivity rate now seems to have peaked, but it is not yet trending down, and the current 14% trend is high enough to signal that many cases are not being detected,” Shepherdson suggested. Against that backdrop, reports suggest that supplies of one of the vaccines developed to combat the coronavirus are now arriving in US distribution centres. Four things to watch for on Monday: Stimulus negotiations will likely hold most of the market’s attention today as US politicians prepare to present a US$908 billion proposal later today Meanwhile, share price reaction may be eyed from Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) as its COVID-19 vaccine, developed with German firm BioNTech, began to be distributed in the US following approval from the FDA at the end of last week  Also in focus could be video game giant Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ:EA) after it struck a deal to acquire London listed racing games developer Codemasters Group Holdings PLC (LON:CDM) for £945 million (US$1.25 billion) The macro calendar is looking sparse, however some may find interest in US consumer inflation expectations data for November, which is expected to fall to 2.8% from 2.84%