Early Look

Thursday, December 30, 2021

U.S. futures are moving higher, building on Wednesday gains where the S&P recorded its 70^th record closing high of 2021 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average also hit an intraday record high as investors shrugged off concerns on the spreading Omicron variant. The Dow has now risen six straight trading days, marking the longest streak of gains since a seven-session run from March 5 to March 15 this year. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index fell-115 points to 28,791, the Shanghai Index rose 22 points to 3,619 and the Hang Seng Index advanced 25 points to 23,112. In Europe, the German DAX is little changed at 15,850, while the FTSE 100 is flat at 7,420. Volumes remain light throughout the week heading into the New Year, with markets “melting higher” the last few weeks as the “Santa Claus” rally did not disappoint this year with major averages at or near record highs as early studies pointing to a reduced risk of hospitalization in Omicron cases have eased some investors concerns over the travel disruption. With two trading days left, the main U.S. stock indexes are on pace for their third straight year of stunning annual returns, boosted by historic fiscal and monetary stimulus. The S&P 500 is looking at its strongest three-year performance since 1999.

Market Closing Prices Yesterday

·     The S&P 500 Index gained 6.71 points, or 0.14%, to 4,793.06

·     The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 90.42 points, or 0.25%, to 36,488.63

·     The Nasdaq Composite slipped -15.51 points, or 0.10%, to 16,466.21

·     The Russell 2000 Index advanced 2.74 points, or 0.12% to 2,249.24

Events Calendar for Today

·     8:30 AM ET                 Weekly Jobless Claims…est. 208K

·     8:30 AM EST               Continuing Claims…est. 1.86M

·     9:45 AM ET                 Chicago PMI for December…est. 62.0

·     10:30 AM ET               Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data

World News

·     The bull-bear spread in the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) weekly survey was 7.2 vs -4.3 last week. Bulls rise to 37.7% from 29.6%; Neutrals fall to 31.8% from 36.6%; Bears fall to 30.5% from 33.9%

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

·     Didi Global Inc. (DIDI) said Q3 revs dropped 11.5% QoQ, after Chinese regulators launched a cybersecurity probe into the ride-hailing firm; reported the equivalent of $6.7B in revenues for Q3 and posted a net loss equivalent to $4.8B

·     JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU) is reducing its schedule through Jan. 13 by about 1,280 flights due to a surge in crew members falling sick from the Omicron coronavirus variant, a spokesperson for the airline told Reuters

·     Tesla (TSLA) filed a recall of 356,309 U.S. vehicles saying the rearview camera cable harness may be damaged by the opening and closing of the trunk lid, preventing the rearview camera image from displaying, increasing the risk of a crash, NHTSA says in a statement

·     Walmart (WMT) said it is now able to dispense prescriptions for COVID antiviral pills from Merck (MRK) and Pfizer (PFE) at select stores in some states

Energy, Industrials and Materials

·     Simpson Manufacturing Co (SSD) said it had agreed to buy European peer Etanco Group for about $818 million.

Financials

·     Columbia Banking (COLB) files automatic mixed securities shelf

·     Kennedy Wilson (KW) has acquired a wholly owned, 528-unit garden style apartment community in Henderson, Nevada for $155M, excluding closing costs.

Healthcare

·     Samsung Biologics said a report that it’s in talks to purchase Biogen (BIIB) is not true. The earlier Korea Economic Daily report is not true, according to a Bloomberg report, which cited a regulatory filing, which didn’t provide any more details. https://bit.ly/3195CBE

·     Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) COVID-19 vaccine demonstrates 85 percent effectiveness against hospitalization in South Africa when Omicron was dominant. Separate analysis showed Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine booster generated 41-fold increase in neutralizing antibodies and a 5-fold increase in T-cells against Omicron

Technology, Media & Telecom

·     Micron (MU) warned late Wednesday that the COVID-19 lockdown in the Chinese city of Xian will cause delays in the supply of its DRAM memory chips; said it should meet most of its customer demand, but the restrictions have resulted in thinner staffing levels

·     R.R. Donnelley (RRD) said it received an $11 per share unsolicited non-binding offer from a strategic buyer, a bid that is above its latest accepted deal with Chatham Asset for $10.85 per share. RRD’s board said that the latest offer would reasonably be expected to lead to be deemed a “superior proposal,” though the board has not decided yet, according to a statement

·     South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc said it had completed the first phase of its acquisition of Intel Corp’s (INTC) NAND flash memory chip business, after it received regulatory nods from eight countries including China. In exchange, SK Hynix will pay $7 billion out of the deal’s total $9 billion price