The Dow is set to open with a four-digit pop
Stock futures are poised for a record-setting open this morning, after former Vice President Joe Biden was named president-elect of the United States, and Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) announced that their COVID-19 vaccine candidate is more than 90% effective. In turn, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are up an astounding 1,500 points, and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) is shooting for significant gains as well, as travel and clean energy stocks surge. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) is staring at marginal gains*, as investors favor stocks that would benefit from a vaccine.
Overall, Wall Street seems unfazed by President Donald Trump's refusal to concede, as well as his promise to seek legal action in key states. Elsewhere, Biden announced the members of his coronavirus task force, who will be responsible for curbing the spread of the virus going forward, just days after the U.S. reported more than 126,000 new cases in two consecutive days.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Square stock nabs record high after quarterly win.
- This fast food stock is a treat for dividend investors.
- Plus, retail stock bags Goldman Sachs upgrade; Delta Air Lines stock surges on upbeat vaccine news; Party City stock reports blowout earnings.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.8 million call contracts traded on Friday, and 766,714 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio dropped to 0.25 and the 21-day moving fell to 0.49.
- Container Store Group Inc (NYSE:TCS) is up 0.1% in pre-market trading, after the retail name received an upgrade from Goldman Sachs to "neutral" from "sell." The analyst said the company, with its storage and organization products, would continue to benefit from the COVID-19 pandemic. Year-over-year, TCS is up 146%.
- Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) is up 0.1% before the bell, along with a number of other travel stocks that are also climbing. The pop came after today's vaccine news provided some hope of a foreseeable end to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, Delta Air Lines stock remains down 46.3%.
- The shares of Party City Holdco Inc (NYSE:PRTY) are up 1.7% in electronic trading, after the party supply retailer reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue. The company attributed the strong results in October, specifically for Halloween, and gave an outlook for the current quarter that was well above estimates. In the last six months, PRTY has gained 307%.
- The week is kicking off on a slow note, with no economic data slated to be reported.
European, Asian Markets React to U.S. Election Results
Stocks in Asia began the week with substantial wins, as investors reacted to President-Elect Joe Biden’s defeat of incumbent Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential race, as well as a sharp rise from the tech sector. Most notably, Japan’s Nikkei rose 2.1%, after shares of Softbank Group added more than 5%, while South Korea’s Kospi finished the day 1.3% higher thanks to a pop from Kakao Games. Regarding mainland stocks, China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished the day 1.9% and 1.2% higher, respectively, as data showed China’s exports surged 11.4% in October.
European markets are also reacting positively to the U.S. election news. Additionally, positive vaccine news boosted investor sentiment. France’s CAC was last seen up 6.6%, followed by a 5.4% gain so far from the German DAX. Rounding out the region, London’s FTSE 100 is up 5% at last check.
*Editor's Note: An earlier version of this sentence claimed the NDX was showing marginal losses, while the supporting table showed marginal gains. The error has been corrected and we apologize for the mistake.