Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq set to rise to record highs
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
NYSE
US stock futures rose on Tuesday, adding to Friday’s record closings for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq. The US stock market was closed on Monday for President’s Day. All three stock benchmarks ended higher last week, in a continuation of February’s strength. For the year, at the close of Friday, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose almost 2.8%, 4.8% and 9.4%, respectively.
The 30-year Treasury yield remained above 2% on Tuesday, as investors watched the progress of Covid’s $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package proposed by President Joe Biden on Capitol Hill and the push for a distribution broader range of coronavirus vaccines in the USA. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to more than 1.26%.
CVS Health (CVS) reported quarterly earnings of $ 1.30 per share, 6 cents above estimates. The prescription also surpassed Wall Street’s predictions, helped in part by Covid-19 testing and vaccinations at its pharmacies.
2. Bitcoin reached a new record above $ 50,000
In this photographic illustration, a visual representation of the digital cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is on display in front of the Bitcoin course chart on February 9, 2021 in Paris, France.
Chesnot | Getty Images
Bitcoin reached a new record on Tuesday, rising from $ 50,000 per unit for the first time, before reducing some of those gains. Big companies announced support for digital currencies last week, starting with Tesla revealing that it bought $ 1.5 billion in bitcoins. Mastercard said on Thursday that it would support certain cryptocurrencies later this year, while BNY Mellon announced the next day that it would open its custody services for digital assets. Bitcoin more than quadrupled in 2020 and has increased by more than 60% since the beginning of this year.
3. The deep freeze in Texas causes a massive energy crisis
Cattle are protected from the cold wind on the side of a jack-jack array on Saturday, February 13, 2021 in Midland, Texas.
Eli Hartman. | American Odessa | AP
More than 3.8 million homes in Texas are in the dark on Tuesday morning, as record low temperatures have increased demand for heating energy, which has pushed the state’s grid to its limit. Continuous blackouts, usually seen on 100-degree summer days, were imposed in Texas. The energy shortage was so great that wholesale spot prices for electricity in the Texas power grid skyrocketed by more than 10,000% on Monday. US oil prices have also risen to a pandemic – above $ 60 a barrel. The cold climate was part of a strong winter explosion that brought snow, sleet and freezing rain to the southern plains, across parts of the Ohio Valley and the Northeast.
4. Congress must establish a Capitol riot commission
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a press conference with House impeachment managers on the fifth day of former US President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial on charges of inciting the deadly attack on Capitol Hill in Washington, USA, February 13, 2021.
Al Drago | Reuters
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Monday that Congress will establish an independent, September 11-style commission to examine last month’s deadly uprising on the US Capitol. The riot investigations were already planned, with Senate hearings scheduled later this month on the Rules Committee.
Prosecutors of the House impeachment who argued in favor of Donald Trump’s conviction of inciting the attack said on Sunday that they had proved their case. Democrats also protested Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans, saying they were “trying to do both” by declaring the ex-president innocent while criticizing him.
5. Biden will make the first official domestic trips
President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with a bipartisan group of governors and mayors about his Covid-19 aid plan, at the White House Oval Office in Washington, DC on February 12, 2021.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
Trying to go beyond Trump’s absolution at last week’s impeachment trial, Biden plans to keep a busy schedule focused on coronavirus next week. Biden is expected to make his first official domestic trips under his presidency, starting with a CNN city hall in Wisconsin on Tuesday to speak to Americans affected by the pandemic. Biden on Thursday then visits a Pfizer Covid vaccine facility in Michigan as the pharmaceutical’s two-dose regimen and Moderna begins making more inroads in pharmacies across the country.
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