S&P 500 Forecast: Day Ahead Outlook First hour update, green all the way
Update from the first hour of trade: US stocks went back to a business as usual theme on Monday as all indices were sharply higher. Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P were all up around 2% in the first hour of trading. Apple is up 3% as the company reports all Apple's US stores are open for the first time since March 2020. Real estate stocks are lagging with Energy and Financial sectors leading the way.
Selected gainers NIO, Boeing, ExxonMobil, Uber, Zoom Video, Citigroup, and Walt Disney.
Selected losers Moderna, AirBnB, HSBC, Snap, and NVIDIA.
The technical outlook is key as the S&P has just regained the 21-day moving average. Resistance is still the bearish trendline from the Feb 16 high currently at 3925.
Here is what you need to know for Monday, March 1:
Lower US Treasury yields are buoying markets on Monday as the US 10 Year slumps to just over 1.4%. The dollar remains bid with Dollar Index up 0.2% and EuroDollar trading at 1.2044. Oil continues to firm with Crude last at $62.27, up 1%.
European markets are all higher with the FTSE up 1.3%, Dax up 0.8%, and EuroStoxx up 1.4%.
US futures are also strong with the Dow Jones up 1%, S&P up 1.1%, and Nasdaq futures ahead by 1.1%.
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S&P 500 News
House passes President Biden's $1.5 trillion stimulus bill on Saturday.
JNJ becomes the third vaccine to be approved for use in the US. It is a one-shot vaccine that does not require special storage.
February showed gains for all major US Indices. The Nasdaq was up by 1%, S&P by 2.6% and the Dow gained 3.1% for February.
Berkshire Hathaway released its annual shareholder letter on Saturday. Warren Buffet said he remains a firm believer in the US, low interest rates make bonds unattractive and the firm's annual meeting will be held outside Omaha for the first time ever. The meeting will be on May 1 in Los Angeles.
Top Berkshire Holdings include Apple in the number 1 slot, with financial stocks also prominent with top 10 holdings for American Express, Bank of America, and US Bancorp.
AstraZeneca and Moderna: Reuters reports AstraZeneca sold its entire stake in Moderna during 2020.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc has approved bonuses to top executives and eligible employees, according to Reuters.
Goldman Sachs analysts release a note on Electric Vehicle (EV) sector saying companies trying to improve EV battery performance are likely to benefit. Companies mentioned include Toyota, Volkwagen, Zeon, and Denka.
Johnson & Johnson CEO says the company aims to have 1 billion Covid vaccine doses across the world by end of 2021. Confident that vaccine will have a robust response against variants.
Logitech increased its guidance for 2021 and said growth from remote work would continue. Shares are 0.5% lower in pre-market.
Netflix was the biggest winner at the Golden Globes on Sunday as it won four awards in movies and six in TV.
Twitter was accused by Russia's communications regulator of violating Russian law, according to Reuters. The Russian regulator said Twitter had not deleted some banned content as requested.
Perrigo announced results on Monday which appeared to miss estimates but announced it is to sell its generic drugs business for $1.55 billion. Shares are 10% higher in pre-market.
ExxonMobil, activist investor Jeff Ubben will join Exxon's board of directors according to CNBC.
Ups and Downs
AMC Networks (AMCX): JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley both raise price target. Note not AMC Entertainment.
DraftKings: Rosenblatt, Canaccord Genuity, and Loop raised their target for the stock.
BostonBeer: Morgan Stanley initiated as an overweight rating.
Berkshire Hathaway: KBW raised its price target from $400k to $430k!
Apache Corp: Truist Securities raised its price target. Bernstein downgrades Apache to market perform.
S&P Economic data today
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Author
Ivan Brian
FXStreet
Ivan Brian started his career with AIB Bank in corporate finance and then worked for seven years at Baxter. He started as a macro analyst before becoming Head of Research and then CFO.
