On February 4, American stock indices closed in the green. The S&P 500 Index climbed 1.09% to 3872 points, reaching a new all-time high. Dow Jones rose 1.08%, NASDAQ – 1.23%. The news background remained mostly calm. High investor risk appetite may be associated with positive macroeconomic statistics. The finance sector was the top gainer, rallying 2.27% on the back of a rally in payments stocks following a PayPal report. The tech sector added 1.55% on positive performance in Apple shares.
Company news
PayPal (PYPL: + 7.4%) successfully reported for the fourth quarter amid a boom in online trading and an increase in cryptocurrency transactions.
Qualcomm’s revenue (QCOM: -8.8%) was in line with expectations, which did not allow the company to distinguish itself from the unexpectedly strong results of competitors.
EBay (EBAY: + 5.3%) results beat consensus due to explosive growth in eCommerce during the reporting period.
Today, global stock exchanges are showing positive dynamics. The optimism remains mainly related to the prospects for the adoption of the fiscal stimulus package. President Biden said yesterday that he was not ready to reduce the volume of direct payments to the population and insisted that they remain at $ 1400. Nevertheless, the head of the White House will probably consider the idea of limiting the circle of citizens who are entitled to subsidies. This item of the program is of increased interest due to the extremely high activity of private investors, which caused a wave of short squeezes last week. It is expected that part of the funds received from the state will be invested by the population in the stock market but estimates of the potential inflow of liquidity are still very different.
The focus of attention of market participants today will be focused on makrostatistiki. Strong data on the labor market is expected, which may serve as a fresh driver for the continuation of the upward movement. The companies’ quarterly reports continue to support risk appetite, with a positive initial investor reaction to the reports prevailing.
Sentiment Index
The Freedom Finance Sentiment Index remains at 68 out of 100. The index reflects market participants’ hope for a global economic recovery in 2021. Concerns about the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic are gradually diminishing thanks to the prospect of mass vaccinations.
Technical picture
Technically, the S&P 500 is still in a medium-term uptrend. The day before, the broad market index reached a new high, which signals the continued activity of buyers. The short-term outlook will depend on whether the bulls can hold the S&P 500 above 3870 points. The next resistance is at 3900 points, where the upper trend line lies.
Today Top MoversT2 Biosystms Inc (TTOO), a healthcare firm, soared about 47.50% at $3.54 in pre-market trading Friday following the news of efficiency of its T2SARS-CoV-2™ Panel to detect Brazil (P.1) variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Aurora Mobile Ltd (JG) share price jumped 112.31% to $8.45 during the early morning trading session on Friday after declaring a partnership agreement with Kuaishou Technology, to improve advertising monetization efficiency. Supercom Lt (SPCB) stock ascended 37.85% at $1.93 in the pre-market trading today. The company recently revealed the closing of financing with gross proceeds of $7 million to support the company’s growth capital needs. LAIX Inc (LAIX) gained over 172.66% at $6.98 in pre-market trading on Friday. It appears there was a coordinated move on social media to drive the price up.
Top Upgrades & Downgrades
BTIG turned bullish on Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (GOOS), upgrading the stock to “Neutral”.
Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. (INFI) has won the favor of JPMorgan’s equity research team. The firm upgraded the shares from Underweight to Neutral.
CMS Energy Corporation (CMS) received an upgrade from analysts at Credit Suisse, who also set their one-year price target on the stock to $64. They changed their rating on CMS to Outperform from Neutral in a recently issued research note.
Earlier Friday Oppenheimer reduced its rating on New Relic Inc. (NEWR) stock to Perform from Outperform.
Wells Fargo analysts reduced their investment ratings, saying in research reports covered by the media that its rating for Bruker Corporation (BRKR) has been changed to Equal Weight from Overweight and the new price target is set at $55.
Analysts at Raymond James downgraded Peloton Interactive Inc. (PTON)’s stock to Market Perform from Outperform Friday.
Latest Insider Activity
Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) Karp Alexander C. announced the sale of shares taking place on Feb 02 at $31.59 for some 1,285,123 shares. The total came to more than $40.6 million.
Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) Int Co-CFO & SVP, Fin & Cntlr Carroll William C sold on Feb 02 a total of 19,481 shares at $38.55 on average. The insider’s sale generated proceeds of almost $0.1 million.
The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW) Director Ruffel Charles A. declared the purchase of shares taking place on Feb 04 at $54.08 for some 3,636 shares. The transaction amount was around $0.2 million.
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AUPH) Director Leversage Jill bought on Jan 29 a total 400 shares at $16.03 on average. The purchase cost the insider an estimated $6,412.
Important Earnings
Top US earnings releases scheduled for today include GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE: EAF). It will announce its Dec 2020 financial results. The company is expected to report earnings of $0.4 per share from revenues of $300.16M in the three-month period.
Analysts expect Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE: CAH) to report a net income (adjusted) of $1.44 per share when the bank releases its quarterly results shortly. Revenue for the fiscal quarter ended Dec 2020 is predicted to come in at $41.44B.
Sanofi (SNY), due to announce earnings before the market opens today, is expected to report earnings of $0.69 per share from revenues of $11.39B recently concluded three-month period.
