Guest host Jack Hough breaks down the three most important things investors should be thinking about with Barron’s markets editor Ben Levisohn, Barron’s reporter Carleton English and Barron’s senior writer Al Root.
U.S. equity markets were mixed Monday morning, putting the S&P 500 on the verge of record territory.
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The benchmark S&P 500 gained 0.34% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 68 points or 0.25% and the Nasdaq Composite was higher by 0.8%. The S&P needs to finish above 3,386.15 to close at a record high and eclipse 3,393.52 to set a new intraday peak.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3387.48 | +14.63 | +0.43% |
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 27880.69 | -50.33 | -0.18% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 11110.122608 | +90.82 | +0.82% |
A record high may not be too far away after Goldman Sachs raised its yearend S&P 500 target by 20% to 3,600, citing stronger-than-expected U.S. growth helped by the firm’s belief at least one COVID-19 vaccine will be discovered by the end of the year.
Looking at stocks, Apple Inc. continues its quest to become the first U.S. company to reach a $2 trillion valuation, needing to top $467.77 a share to achieve the level.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 459.14 | -0.49 | -0.11% |
| GOLD | BARRICK GOLD CORP. | 29.9975 | +3.01 | +11.14% |
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 1,783.34 | +132.63 | +8.03% |
Barrick Gold Corp. surged after a regulatory filing out Friday evening showed Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway established a position of nearly 21 million shares, worth $563 million. Berkshire also sold large portions of its stakes in JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.
Tesla Inc. shares received a $1,900 price target, up from $1,800, from Wedbush Securities, which cited an acceleration of demand from China and potential “game changing” battery developments at an event next month.
French drugmaker Sanofi SA agreed to buy U.S. cancer drug developer Principia Biopharma Inc. for $3.68 billion, or $100 per share, a 10% premium to Friday’s closing price.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNY | SANOFI S.A. | 51.30 | +0.97 | +1.94% |
| PRNB | PRINCIPIA BIOPHARMA | 99.15 | +8.41 | +9.27% |
| NVDA | NVIDIA CORPORATION | 490.27 | +27.71 | +5.99% |
Chipmaker Nvidia Corp. is holding exclusive talks to buy SoftBank-backed British rival Arm that could value the company as high as 40 billion British pounds ($52.4 billion).
BIDEN MUM ABOUT TRUMP CRACKDOWN ON CHINESE STOCKS
Looking at earnings, JD.com beat on both the top and bottom lines as the company’s annual active customers rose 30% in the three months through June to 417.4 million.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JD | JD.COM INC | 63.32 | +1.26 | +2.03% |
| WMT | WALMART INC. | 135.20 | +2.60 | +1.96% |
| HD | THE HOME DEPOT INC. | 286.17 | +5.62 | +2.00% |
Retailers Walmart Inc. and Home Depot Inc. hit record highs ahead of their the release of their quarter results, which are due out ahead of Tuesday’s opening bell.
Looking at commodities, gold jumped $37.60 to $1,987.40 an ounce while West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 44 cents at $42.44 per barrel.
U.S. Treasurys ticked higher, pushing the yield on the 10-year note down by 2.7 basis points to 0.682%.
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European markets were gaining across the board with Britain’s FTSE up 0.56%, Germany’s DAX higher by 0.04% and France’s CAC edging up 0.03%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.83% after the country’s economy posted a record annualized contraction of 27.8% in the three months through June. Elsewhere in the region, China’s Shanghai Composite surged 2.34% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.65%.
