Bed, Bath & Beyond, Micron Technology, Moderna: What to Watch When the Market Opens
January 07 2021 - 7:35AM
Dow Jones News
By Paul J. Davies
Here's what we're watching ahead of the opening bell on
Thursday.
-- U.S. stock futures rose as investors looked past Wednesday
night's storming of Congress by a pro-Trump mob that disrupted the
Senate's confirmation of Joe Biden's election victory. Futures tied
to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2%, suggesting the
index of blue-chip stocks will extend a rally that pushed it to a
record closing high Wednesday. S&P 500 futures also rose
0.4%.
Futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index gained 0.6%, suggesting that
giant technology stocks may recoup some of their losses. Tech
shares took a beating Wednesday when investors pushed into other
stocks that are more dependent on economic growth.
What's Coming Up
-- Weekly jobless claims, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, are expected to
be up 815,000 in the week ended Jan. 2, compared with 787,000 the
week before. U.S. trade data are expected to show a deficit in
November of $67.3 billion, up from $63.1 billion in October as
imports grew by more than exports.
Later in the morning, figures on business services sentiment are
expected to have worsened slightly in December, though still to
have remained in expansion territory.
-- Corporate earnings season also gets underway with several
companies due to give updates, including Walgreens Boots Alliance,
Bed Bath & Beyond and Conagra Brands, all reporting before
stock markets open.
Market Movers to Watch
-- Bed Bath & Beyond stock rose nearly 6.5% on Wednesday and
was up another 0.8% in premarket trading Thursday. Analysts will be
looking to see how the firm's sales performed during the key
holiday season, including Black Friday.
-- Micron Technology is up 1% in premarket trading ahead of its
earnings due Thursday afternoon, adding to the 2.6% rise its stock
has enjoyed since the start of the year. Citigroup's analyst this
week had a dramatic pivot on the stock, moving it from sell
straight to buy and nearly trebling the price target to $100 from
$35.
-- Moderna is up more than 3.2% in premarket, building on a 6.5%
jump Wednesday after the European Union gave a green light to its
Covid-19 vaccine for use in Europe.
-- Fox Corp. B shares were down 1.4% having leapt 8.4% on
Wednesday.
-- Twitter shares slipped 1.5% premarket following a 1.2% drop
the day before. The social media site blocked President Trump's
account and deleted some of his posts late on Wednesday after he
continued to claim he'd won the election in a "sacred landslide."
Facebook also blocked Mr. Trump from posting, but its shares were
0.5% better after falling nearly 3% Wednesday.
Market Fact
Shares of Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs closed at a record for
the first time in nearly three years, a sign of how much the bank
has profited from the financial chaos of the past year. Its stock
has risen about 19% over the past month, far more than any of its
five big-bank peers.
Chart of the Day
The politics of reflation matters most for investors, but the
long-term impact of elections is often quite different than it
appears the day after the vote, writes columnist James
Mackintosh.
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Case
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 07, 2021 07:20 ET (12:20 GMT)
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