The Dow rang in the first trading day of 2021 with a 382-point drop
You wouldn't have guessed it from the first hour of trading, but it ended up being a disappointing start to the year for Wall Street. The Dow and S&P 500 both initially hit record highs out of the gate, only to quickly pivot lower and finish the day with steep losses. The Dow and S&P 500 logged their worst single-session drop since Oct. 28, as fears over continually surging Covid-19 cases dulled new year optimism. The Nasdaq Composite wasn't much better, turning in its worst session since Dec. 9.
Elsewhere, Georgia runoff elections are piquing investor interest, as the possibility of a Democratic majority sweeping the Senate looming larger in the wake of President Donald Trump's controversial phone call to Georgia Secretary of State.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- A look back at Schaeffer's best options trades of 2020.
- This bull signal has boded well for Cloudflare stock in the past.
- Plus, one tech stock's rally for bulls to bet on; checking in on CZR; and the M&A buzz surrounding FCAU.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 30,223.89) lost 382.6 points, or 1.3% on Monday. Walgreens-Boots Alliance (WBA) led the six gainers with a 3.8% pop, while the 24 losers were paced by Boeing (BA), which lost 5.3% on the day.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index (SPX - 3,700.65) fell 55.4 points, or 1.5% and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 12,698.45) shaved off 189.8 points, or 1.4%.
Lastly, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 26.97) added 4.2 points, or 18.6%.
- Haven -- a company founded by Amazon (AMZN), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) and JP Morgan (JPM) in an effort to lower healthcare costs -- is disbanding after three years of operation. The company will be shutting its doors at the end of February, laying off 57 workers in the process, with efforts to place them in one of the three respective companies. (CNBC)
- Electric car giant Tesla (TSLA) earlier today passed the $700 billion market cap, though with different accounting, this number could really be over $800 billion -- making the company more valuable than Facebook (FB). (MarketWatch)
- Yandex stock could be primed for even more fresh highs in the coming weeks.
- Should bulls bet on a bounce back for CZR this year?
- The billion-dollar merger driving Fiat-Chrysler stock higher.
There were no notable earnings reports today.
Gold Nabs Highest Close in Months, Oil Dips
Oil slipped into the new year, with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies (OPEC+) at a standstill on production policy, and another meeting scheduled for Thursday. While the majority of OPEC+ favored the current output policy, several holdouts, including Russia, are pushing for a 500,000 barrel increase per day. February-dated crude lost 90 cents, or 1.9%, to settle at $47.62 per barrel for the day.
Gold prices locked in their highest close since early November, as Covid-19 concerns weakened the dollar and investors, once more, turned to the safe haven. February-dated gold added $51.50, or 2.7% for the day, to settle at $1,956.60 an ounce.