Federated Hermes CIO Stephen Auth and BMO Capital Markets chief strategist Brian Belski offer insight into stimulus efforts, inflation fears and retail earnings.
U.S. equity markets ticked higher Tuesday, a day after posting their strongest gains in months.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 31579.01 | +43.50 | +0.14% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3899.33 | -2.49 | -0.06% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 13547.040573 | -41.79 | -0.31% |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 49 points, or 0.16%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.1% and 0.06%, respectively.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JNJ | JOHNSON & JOHNSON | 159.81 | +0.42 | +0.26% |
| MRK | MERCK & CO., INC. | 72.93 | +0.60 | +0.83% |
The early gains come a day after the S&P 500 booked its best day since June, fueled by optimism over the pace and strength of the U.S. economic recovery as Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine became the third inoculation to receive regulatory approval. Later today President Biden is expected to announce a collaboration between J&J and Merck.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GME | GAMESTOP | 119.57 | +0.07 | +0.06% |
Looking at stocks, GameStop Corp. and other highly shorted stocks remain in focus as Gary Gensler, President Biden’s pick to head the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, appears before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs for his confirmation hearing.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TGT | TARGET CORP. | 192.35 | +6.04 | +3.24% |
Meanwhile, Target Corp. reported revenue rose 21% from a year ago as the pandemic continued to fuel a surge in demand for same-day services. The big-box retailer said its sales grew by more than $15 billion last year, more than the 11 previous years combined.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZM | ZOOM VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS, INC. | 425.51 | +15.86 | +3.87% |
In other earnings news, Zoom shares were sharply higher after video-conferencing provider said sales soared 369% year over year as the pandemic caused more people to work from home.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SQ | SQUARE INC COM | 253.51 | +12.70 | +5.27% |
Elsewhere, Square Inc. announced its commercial bank, Square Financial Services, has begun operations. The unit will offer business loans to Square’s retailers.
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil ticked up 38 cents to $61.02 per barrel and gold rallied $2.20 to $1,725.20 an ounce.
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Overseas, markets rallied across Europe with Britain’s FTSE 100 trading up 0.6% to pace the gains. Elsewhere, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.51% and Germany’s DAX 30 advanced 0.49%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.86% while China’s Shanghai Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index both lost 1.21%.
