Bed Bath & Beyond, Micron Technology, Moderna: What to Watch When the Market Opens
January 07 2021 - 9:07AM
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 0.4%, 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
0.6%.
Futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index gained 0.8%, 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 were lower than expected, adding
787,000 for the week of Jan. 2, versus expectations of 815,000.
Trade data showed a bigger deficit than expected for November, at
$68.1 billion, up from a deficit of $63.1 billion the previous
month.
Market Movers to Watch
-- Bed Bath & Beyond stock plunged nearly 13% in premarket
trading, after sales and profits both turned out weaker than
expected in the third quarter. The company blamed Covid-19, which
meant fewer shoppers in its stores and shipping problems.
-- Walgreens Boots Alliance shares jumped 2.6% premarket, adding
to Wednesday's 4.5% rise, after it beat expectations with
first-quarter earnings. Headline sales were up nearly 6%, although
Walgreens was pushed into a loss by a $1.5 billion charge linked to
its investment in AmerisourceBergen.
-- Micron Technology is up 1.5% 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 2.5% 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.
-- Twitter shares slipped 2.2% 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
1.1% better after falling nearly 3% Wednesday.
-- It's a day that ends in a "y," so Tesla shares are on the
move: The stock is up 2.8% premarket on no apparent news, following
Wednesday's 2.8% rise.
-- DXC Technology, an IT services firm, shot up nearly 10% on a
talk of a takeover offer from French group Atos. Reuters reported
that Atos had made a $10 billion approach for its smaller
rival.
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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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 07, 2021 08:52 ET (13:52 GMT)
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