The stock fell on Monday morning in the first session of 2021, reaching new records before reducing gains.
The S&P 500 and Dow each rose to record intraday levels, but then erased gains and fell slightly. The S&P 500 ended December with a 3.7% gain in one month and a 16% gain in 2020, ending an extraordinary year in the markets, despite the pandemic scenario. Bitcoin prices (BTC-USD) also increased their recent high over the weekend, exceeding $ 34,000 to set a new high record before reducing some gains.
Markets largely ignored the new political noise in Washington after President Donald Trump asked Georgia’s Secretary of State to reverse his defeat for President-elect Joe Biden in the state, based on a telephone recording first reported by the Washington Post. The demand came just before the second round of Georgia’s Senate election on Tuesday, which is expected to determine House control, as Republicans currently maintain a narrow majority.
Traders are entering the new year with a vaccine rollout underway and more stimulus that has recently occurred, offering hopes of a stronger recovery once inoculations allow the restrictions that have swept the country for months to ease. Still, there are obstacles to the outlook, and one of the biggest decisive factors in economic growth and the recovery of profitability for many companies will be the success of vaccine distribution, as COVID-19 cases continue to increase, many strategists said.
“The big question for the global economy next year will be how quickly populations will be vaccinated, especially among vulnerable groups like the elderly and those with underlying health problems that make up the majority of hospitalizations,” wrote economists at Deutsche Bank , including Henry Allen in a note. “If the most affected groups can be vaccinated quickly, this could pave the way for a gradual easing of restrictions and a return to something closer to normal.”
“Markets are likely to be watching closely for any problems with COVID-19 or the vaccine launch, especially given the new variants that were found in the UK and South Africa, which spread more quickly and were found in a number increasing number of countries ”. they added.
Over the weekend, the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were given to more than 4 million people in the United States, representing more than 1% of the country’s population. However, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said President-elect Joe Biden’s goal of increasing distribution to vaccinate 100 million people in his first 100 days was a “realistic goal”, according to an interview with ABC on Sunday.
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10:00 am Eastern Time: US construction spending decelerated more than expected in November, although residential construction spending remained strong
U.S. construction spending increased 0.9% in November from October, the Commerce Department said on Monday, after a revised upward 1.6% increase in October. This came just below economists’ consensus estimates of a 1.0% increase, according to Bloomberg data. Still, construction spending increased 3.8% over the same month of 2019.
A month-on-month decline in non-residential private construction weighed on general construction spending. Private residential construction, however, led the growth, increasing 2.7% in the monthly comparison and 16.1% in the annual comparison amid the strong activity of the real estate market.
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9:45 am ET: US manufacturing activity jumped to a 6-year high in December: IHS Markit
The US manufacturing sector expanded at the fastest rate in six years in December, according to IHS Markit, in the latest sign of recovery in the goods-producing industries.
The final index of IHS Markit’s manufacturing sector purchasing managers rose to 57.1 in December, after an earlier impression of 56.5 for the month. Readings above the neutral level of 50.0 indicate expansion of a sector.
However, the continued expansion of the sector can be contained as COVID-19 cases rise and new restrictions come into play in the short term, noted Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit.
“Machinery and equipment producers reported strong sustained demand, suggesting that companies are increasing their investment spending. Producers of inputs for other factories have also done well, as manufacturers have sought to replenish their deposits, ”said Williamson in a statement. “However, the survey also highlights how manufacturers now not only face weaker demand conditions due to the pandemic, but are also seeing COVID-19 further disrupt supply chains, causing delays in transportation. These delays are limiting production capacities, as well as drastically raising the prices of producers’ inputs, aggravating the sector’s problems ”.
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9:32 am ET: Stocks open slightly higher
Here are the main changes in the markets, as of 9:32 am ET:
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S&P 500 (^ GSPC): +8.84 (+ 0.24%) to 3,764.91
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Dow (^ DJI): +19.97 (+ 0.07%) to 30,626.45
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Nasdaq (^ IXIC): +46.34 (+ 0.36%) to 12,934.60
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Gross (CL = F): – $ 0.17 (-0.35%) to $ 48.35 a barrel
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Gold (GC = F): + $ 49.30 (+ 2.6%) to $ 1,944.40 per ounce
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10-year Treasury (^ TNX): +4 bps to yield 0.952%
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9:21 am Eastern time: Moderna raises manufacturing estimate for COVID-19 vaccine, invests to deliver up to 1 billion doses in 2021
Moderna’s (MRNA) stock rose early in the day after the company said in an update Monday morning that its new “global case-base production estimate” is 600 million doses of its vaccine COVID- 19 in 2021, above the 500 million he saw earlier.
The company also continues to invest and increase its workforce to deliver up to 1 billion doses this year, he added.
Moderna predicts that 100 million doses will be available in the United States by the end of the first quarter and that 200 million total doses will be available by the end of the second. To date, 18 million doses have been provided to the government.
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8:16 am ET: Google employees launch union as executive tensions escalate
More than 200 employees of Google’s parent company, Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), have joined a newly created union called the Alphabet Workers Union, after growing discontent with the conduct of various events by executives in recent years. This marked the first major union effort within a Big Tech company.
Google employees recently attacked Alphabet executives and management teams over military contracts, the treatment of contract workers and the treatment of allegations of sexual harassment. In early December, the National Labor Relations Board claimed that Google had illegally laid off two workers seeking to unionize in 2019.
“Our union will work to ensure that workers know what they are working on and can do their job for a fair wage, without fear of abuse, retaliation or discrimination,” Google employees, Parul Koul and Chewy Shaw, president and vice president of Alphabet Workers Union, said in a New York Times article on Monday.
The new union will include elected leaders and paying members, and will be open to all Alphabet workers and contractors.
“We have always worked hard to create a workplace that supports and rewards our workforce,” an Alphabet spokesman told Yahoo Finance. “It is clear that our employees protected the labor rights that we support. But, as we have always done, we will continue to engage directly with all of our employees ”.
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7:55 am ET: Oppenheimer sees 6-10% drop in S&P 500 ‘if Democrats win both seats’ in Georgia’s run-off elections
Second-round elections to the Georgia Senate pose a short-term risk to stocks, and a result in which both Democratic opponents emerge victorious could trigger a notable drop in the stock market, according to Oppenheimer strategist John Stoltzfus.
“A democratic victory in the two runoff elections in Georgia could cause the broad US stock market to fall between 6% and 10%,” said Stoltzfus in a note published on Monday. “In our experience, markets prefer the Washington Capitol to have enough checks and balances to keep political power out of the hands of just one party.”
“It’s not just some people on Main Street as well as on Wall Street that if tomorrow’s runoff results in a sweep for Democrats – giving them control of the Senate and the House – it would bode ill for businesses with the likelihood that corporate tax rates rise substantially, ”he said.
“Furthermore, a Democratic sweep in Georgia would likely see a boost in the creation of new government programs and spending at a time when many voters, market participants and business leaders are concerned about the considerable level of debt that the Treasury has had to assume. provide a financial ‘bridge over troubled waters’ through fiscal stimulus, ”he added.
Republicans currently control 50 seats in the Senate, while Democrats control 48. This means that a Democratic victory in both seats would give the party a majority in the chamber by including Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ ability to cast decisive votes.
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7:18 am ET Monday: Stock futures point to higher open
Here are the main movements of the markets, starting at 7:18 am ET:
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S&P 500 Futures (ES = F): 3,765.5, an increase of 16.75 points or 0.45%
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Dow Futures (YM = F): 30,642.00, up to 145 points or 0.48%
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Nasdaq Futures (NQ = F): 12,935.25, an increase of 49.75 points or 0.39%
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Gross (CL = F): – $ 0.05 (-0.1%) to $ 48.47 a barrel
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Gold (GC = F): + $ 41.30 (+ 2.18%) to $ 1,936.40 per ounce
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10-year Treasury (^ TNX): +1.6 bps, yielding 0.928%
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