The Dow Jones today is up another 200 points in premarket hours. Investors continue to cheer a day after Pfizer (PFE) announced that it has developed a COVID vaccine with 90% efficacy. Yesterday’s announcement sent the Dow up more than 1,700 points at one point. Investors continue to hope that life can “return to normal.” However, we remain a long way away from deployment and the potential that we can bring a vaccine to the masses.
Let’s take a look at the numbers from Monday before we get into the headlines driving the futures market.
Here are the key headlines that are driving the Dow Futures this morning. Look for additional updates throughout the day.
The Rundown: Today’s Top Market Stories
- This morning, the rotation out of “at-home” stocks and back into airlines, hotels, and other companies that would recover if we had a vaccine tomorrow continued its course. Shares of Zoom Video (ZM), for example, continue to decline. The stock is now off more than 20% in two days since Pfizer announced the vaccine’s success.
- Yesterday’s historic bounce was a problem for a lot of discount brokers. Merrill Edge (BAC) – part of the Bank of America brand – was a complete dumpster fire. I made the mistake of using Merrill Edge and failing to account for three previous days like this one. The platform was down with a message stating that some members portfolios were not accessible. I guess some members are more important than others. Robinhood and TDAmeritrade also experienced lags and issues.
- How hot is this market? Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller says that investors shouldn’t be tempted to short this market. There has been a big shift out of growth and into value stocks over the last 24 hours. Druckenmiller also said he expects an uptick of inflation over the next five to six years due to the Federal Reserve’s huge stimulus efforts over the last few months.
COVID-19 Updates
This morning, the key COVID story driving the market is the potential vaccine. However, we’re not even close to being out of the woods yet. Johns Hopkins University reported an additional 100,000 cases or more for the seventh straight day. Hospitalizations are up 70% over the last week, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
Today’s Top Stocks to Watch: AAPL, DRI, BA
AAPL: This afternoon, Apple (AAPL) will debut its latest round of Mac computers… but with a twist. These will be the first computers that have been powered by the company’s own processors since 2005. The company had used Intel chips in its devices since 2005. AAPL stock has held up over the last 24 hours despite a massive rotation out of “at-home” stocks and back into those tied to a financial recovery.
DRI: Today, pay close attention to DR Horton (DRI). The stock was up more than 7.6% after the home builder successfully topped Wall Street earnings and revenue expectations. The firm reported quarterly EPS of $2.24. That figure crushed expectations of $1.76. Revenue was much higher thanks to stronger sales and net orders. The company hiked its dividends and increased its 2021 outlook.
BA: Shares of Boeing surged again on news that the company is on the verge of bringing back the 737 Max. Shares popped more than 6% on news that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration could approve the plane’s return to the skies soon. The agency might approve of the ungrounding as soon as November 18.
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