Morning Report: ASX 200 set for soft start as vaccine rollout commences

US sharemarkets were broadly flat on Friday. Shares in farm machinery maker, Deer & Co. rose by 9.9% after it upgraded its earnings outlook. A number of technology companies fell: Facebook (-2.9%); Microsoft (-1.2%); and Amazon (-2.4%). The Dow Jones index rose by just 1 point or less than 0.1%. The S&P 500 index fell by 0.2% but the Nasdaq index rose by 9 points or 0.1%. Over the week the Dow rose 0.1%; S&P 500 fell 0.7%; Nasdaq lost 1.6%.