The US stock indexes were traded in small ranges on January 12. The S&P 500 has risen symbolically by 0.04% to 3801 points, with the Dow Jones and the NASDAQ contributing 0.19% and 0.28%, respectively. New drivers have been absent. The Russel 2000 small-cap index nevertheless increased by 1.77 percent, which indicates an increased propensity for risk. The energy industry was the pioneer in growth and has benefited 3.5% from the upward oil dynamics. The telecom market has sunk by 1.5 percent under pressure.
Corporate Updates
Walmart (WMT: + 1.15%) announced plans to create a fintech startup in partnership with venture capital fund Ribbit Capital, which backs broker Robinhood.
Intel (INTC: + 3.3%) will increase production of new server processors. The company also unveiled 12th generation Alder Lake processors.
Sports streaming service fuboTV (FUBO: + 34.2%) takes over the Vigtory bookmaker to launch its own bookmaker service by the end of the year.
Today, foreign financial markets show mixed trends. The background of the news is quiet. Current activities in the United States linked to Donald Trump’s potential arrest had little impact on the movement of quotes as they does not conflict with the vaccine programme. The administration of Trump has meanwhile revealed reforms to promote the vaccine process. The key point of these improvements was that the second dose vaccine was spread rather than stored for two weeks. The list of people who will get the coronavirus vaccine has risen and there will be a substantial rise in the number of vaccination stations. The financial group is currently less concerned with morbidity and hospitalization rates. On 6 January the last maximum number of people injured was 132,5 thousand.
Investors took a wait-and-see stance before big developments on Thursday and Friday. Note that on 14 January Joseph Biden will deliver a package of economic support initiatives and the season of quarterly bank reports will commence on 15 January. Consolidation is most likely in this regard during the current session.
Economic news
The December Core CPI will be published today. In November, the growth of the indicator is forecast to decline from 0.2% to 0.1% m/m. Despite substantial monetary and fiscal stimuli, inflationary pressures are expected to stay subdued in the short term. The second half of this year is expected to see a steady acceleration of inflation. The Sentiment Index of Freedom Finance plummeted to 58 out of 100. The measure represents the belief of industry players that the global economy will rebound in 2021. The possibility of mass vaccines alleviates fears over the harmful consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
Technical picture
The S&P 500 is technically vulnerable to short-term consolidation. The day before, there was no effort to establish a correctional movement: buyers were solid. However, the RSI indicator remains close to the overbought zone, which still limits the growth prospects. Besides, in the area of 3825-3830 points, there is strong resistance in the form of the upper border of the equidistant channel. If a corrective movement develops, the first significant target for the S & P500 will be the level of 3700 points.
Today Top Movers
Aprea Therapeutics Inc (APRE) gained over 18.13% at $6.06 in pre-market trading on Wednesday after the company provided financial updates.
Plug Power Inc (PLUG) share price jumped 3.53% to $68.35 during the early morning trading session on Wednesday after declaring a partnership with Renault, a French automaker, to become a leader in Hydrogen LCV.
Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp (TNXP), a biotechnology company, soared about 30.81% at $1.21 in pre-market trading Wednesday following the pricing $40M common stock offering.
Fluent Inc (FLNT) stock ascended 12.15% at $6.00 in the pre-market trading today.
Top Upgrades & Downgrades
JP Morgan turned bullish on Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM), upgrading the stock to “Overweight” and assigning a $56.0 price target, representing a potential upside of 16.97% from Tuesday’s close.
Sabra Health Care REIT Inc. (SBRA) has won the favor of Jefferies’s equity research team. The firm upgraded the shares from Hold to Buy and moved their price target to $20.0, suggesting 17.03% additional upside for the stock.
Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. (OHI) received an upgrade from analysts at Jefferies, who also set their one-year price target on the stock to $40.0. They changed their rating on OHI to Buy from Hold in a recently issued research note.
Earlier Wednesday KeyBanc reduced its rating on Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) stock to Sector Weight from Overweight.
Piper Sandler analysts reduced their investment ratings, saying in research reports covered by the media that it’s rating for The PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (PNC) has been changed to Neutral from Overweight and the new price target is set at $167.
Analysts at HSBC downgraded DuPont de Nemours Inc. (DD)’s stock to Hold from Buy Wednesday.
Latest Insider Activity
Tyme Technologies Inc. (TYME) 10% Owner Demurjian Michael announced the sale of shares taking place on Jan 11 at $1.62 for some 20,000 shares. The total came to more than $32426.
Hecla Mining Company (HL) Director Rogers Terry V sold on Jan 08 a total 48,103 shares at $6.25 on average. The insider’s sale generated proceeds of almost $0.28 million.
Foot Locker Inc. (FL) 10% Owner Vesa Equity Investment S.a r.l declared the purchase of shares taking place on Jan 04 at $39.00 for some 8,581 shares. The transaction amount was around $0.33 million.
DermTech Inc. (DMTK) 10% Owner RTW INVESTMENTS, LP bought on Jan 07 a total 3,087,216 shares at $29.50 on average. The purchase cost the insider an estimated $5.9 million.
Important Earnings
Top US earnings releases scheduled for today include Infosys Limited (NYSE: INFY). It will announce its Dec 2020 financial results. The company is expected to report earnings of $0.15 per share from revenues of $3.38B in the three-month period.
Analysts expect Washington Federal Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) to report a net income (adjusted) of $0.42 per share, when the bank releases its quarterly results shortly. Revenue for the fiscal quarter ended Dec 2020 is predicted to come in at $115.53M.
Volt Information Sciences Inc. (VOLT), due to announce earnings after the market closes today, is expected to report earnings of $0.01 per share from revenues of $205.5M recently concluded three-month period.
