The Dow Jones slumped more than 160 points in premarket hours as investors continued to rotate from growth stocks into more cyclical stocks. Recent announcements by Pfizer (PFE) and Moderna (MRNA) on their new vaccines has given investors optimism that we could vaccinate every willing American by mid-2021.
The NASDAQ is pushing higher today on news that Amazon (AMZN) will launch its own pharmacy. In addition, Tesla (TSLA) will join the S&P 500. That development will make Elon Musk the world’s third-richest person. Shares of TSLA rallied more than 12.2% in pre-market hours.
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.
The Rundown: Today’s Top Market Stories
- This morning, the Dow is dipping despite yesterday’s positive news from drug developer Moderna (MRNA). Yesterday, the company said that its vaccine has an efficacy rate of 94.5%, a figure that has bolstered optimism and fueled a rotation back into cyclical stocks. The company said that if its safety data holds up, it could begin deploying its vaccine in the coming months.
- Keep an eye on the IPO market. Airbnb just revealed paperwork for its plans to go public, and this will likely make some noise. The Wall Street Journal said that the company reported a Q3 profit of $219 million. This was impressive given the impact of COVID on the economy.
- On the COVID front, the United States is close to reaching an average 150,000 new cases over the last week, according to Johns Hopkins University. Across the country, states like New Jersey and California are cracking down on public gatherings. The U.S. death total is on the verge of hitting 250,000, and total U.S. cases are above 11 million. Right now, the focus remains on a vaccine, its timing, and the push to get Americans to take it. President-Elect Joe Biden says that he will not hesitate to get the vaccine when it is available.
Today’s Top Stocks to Watch: AMZN, CVS, WBA, RAD
AMZN: Amazon is taking a baseball bat to the state of the pharmacy industry. Shares of CVS Health (CVS), Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), and Rite Aid (RAD) were all off more than 6%. The downturns came after Amazon announced it will expand upon its PillPack acquisition to build a robust online drug delivery network. The program will provide Prime users with access to delivery within two days. The online ecommerce giant will also provide its own savings program similar to GoodRX.
LUV: Shares of airline giant Southwest continue to push higher on optimism that the company will endure beyond this crisis. The firm has been expanding its operations into new cities and markets as their competition struggles. However, Southwest is going to lose money this year, ending a 47-straight year of profitability.
WMT: Shares of Walmart added another 1.3% after the company topped earning estimates before the bell Tuesday. The company reported earnings per share of $1.34, a figure that topped expectations of $1.18. The company also shattered revenue expectations with same-store sales of 6.4%. The company said that it has been highly successful due to changes in customer behaviors, including the swell of e-commerce sales that have benefited it. Walmart says that saw a 79% jump in e-commerce sales year-over year.
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