Mainstay Capital Management CEO David Kudla says investors should reevaluate their portfolio due to a ‘wall of worry’ over market decline.
U.S. stock futures inched higher on Friday as investors usher in a new month amid ongoing uncertainty on Capitol Hill. Dow member Merck also aided gains.
Dow futures rose over 100 points or 0.3%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite point to a gain of about 0.3% apiece.
Investors are coming off the worst September for equities since September of 2011, as tracked by Dow Jones Market Data Group.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 546 points, or 1.6%, while the S&P 500 index fell 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite index lost 0.44%.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 33843.92 | -546.80 | -1.59% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 4307.54 | -51.92 | -1.19% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 14448.581451 | -63.86 | -0.44% |
In stock news, Merck shares are in focus after the company said it will seek emergency approval for its COVID-19 antiviral pill. Atea Pharmaceuticals, a smaller biotech that also has a similar pill, rose in tandem.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRK | MERCK & CO., INC. | 75.11 | +0.02 | +0.03% |
| AVIR | ATEA PHARMACEUTICALS INC. | 35.06 | +2.93 | +9.12% |
In other vaccine news, Moderna and Japan’s Takeda disclosed the cause of foreign particles discovered in their COVID-19 vaccine which prompted a recall. “This was the result of incorrect assembly and was due to human error…” according to a statement following an investigation.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRNA | MODERNA, INC. | 384.86 | +5.96 | +1.57% |
In deal news, Zoom and Five9 scrapped their pending merger.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZM | ZOOM VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS, INC. | 261.50 | +4.09 | +1.59% |
| FIVN | FIVE9, INC. | 159.74 | -1.99 | -1.23% |
“At Five9’s special meeting of stockholders held on September 30, 2021, Five9 did not obtain the requisite stockholder support for the merger agreement. As a result, Zoom and Five9 each had the ability to terminate the merger agreement” according to Zoom.
Also, watch shares of Lordstown Motors. The company confirmed it will sell the former GM factory in Ohio to Foxconn for $230 million.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RIDE | LORDSTOWN MOTORS | 7.98 | +0.62 | +8.42% |
Later this morning traders will eye a fresh batch of economic data.
LOTS OF ECONOMIC DATA
First, a new read on inflation with core personal consumption expenditures, which minus volatile food and energy prices are anticipated to rise 0.2% in August, near the prior month’s 0.3% increase.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, the year-over-year change in core PCE, is expected to hold steady at 3.6% for the third month in a row, the highest reading in more than 30 years.
Additionally, personal income and spending numbers for August will be released. Economists surveyed by Refinitiv anticipate spending to rise 0.6% month-over-month, double the increase in July. Personal income, meantime, is expected to inch up 0.3%, well below July’s 1.1% jump.
And at 10 a.m. ET, the ISM’s manufacturing purchasing managers index for September and University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index will be released.
