Coronavirus relief negotiations still hang in limbo ahead of the holiday
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are eyeing modest gains this morning, heading for a 38-point pop as investors continue to monitor stimulus negotiations in Congress. News just broke that Republicans in the House of Representatives blocked Democrat's attempts to enact a $2,000 payment to Americans, leaving the coronavirus relief bill in even further limbo just ahead of the holiday.
S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) futures are also modestly in the black, though all three benchmarks are eyeing weekly losses this holiday-shortened week. Headlines are fairly muted this morning, with the market set to close at 1 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) in observance of the Christmas Eve holiday. Tomorrow, markets will be closed for Christmas.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- A look at Weibo stock ahead of next week's quarterly report.
- Behind Nano Dimension stock's 2020 rally.
- Plus, ALT plummets on FDA hold; THC pulls out of hospital deal; and NKLA rises after yesterday's drop.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.6 million call contracts traded on Wednesday, and 672,789 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.41 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.41.
- Altimmune Inc (NASDAQ:ALT) stock is down 10.4% ahead of the bell, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) put a clinical hold on humans trials of its coronavirus vaccine. The equity is up 36.6% in the last month.
- Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC) is flat in electronic trading, amid news that the company pulled out of a $350 million hospital deal. The company no longer plans on selling two Memphis-based hospitals, after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) intervened. Year-to-date, THC is up 6.6%.
- The shares of Nikola Inc (NASDAQ:NKLA) are up 1.3% in premarket trading, after yesterday hitting their lowest level since early May. The stock plummeted in Wednesday's trading after the cancellation of its deal with Republic Services. The two companies were developing electric garbage trucks.
- Today will bring durable and core capital goods orders.
Markets Mixed Overseas With Post-Brexit Trade Deal in Focus
Asian markets were mostly higher for the Christmas Eve holiday, as investors remained hopeful a post-Brexit deal could soon be reached. However, the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.6%, after China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said it was investigating tech giant Alibaba for monopolistic practices. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi settled 1.7% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively.
Meanwhile, European stocks were mixed for the holiday-shortened session, with the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) expected to announce a trade deal sometime today, following months of disagreements over key issues such as fisheries. Investors were also responding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to veto a defense bill, and his criticism of a new coronavirus relief package. In turn, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.1%, while London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1%, on the heels of a rise in bank stocks. In Germany, the market was closed in observance of Christmas Eve.