Good morning and welcome to the stock market today! Although it may feel hard to believe, it is already Friday and almost time for the weekend. So what will the stock market do to end the week? Dive in with InvestorPlace below.
To start, the top movers are bit of an odd group this morning. Names like Lordstown Motors (NASDAQ:RIDE), ChargePoint (NYSE:CHPT) and Coupang (NYSE:CPNG) are all drawing investor attention.
So where do these top movers come from? And what else will the stock market do today? Here is a look at some of the top stories.
What Will the Stock Market Do Today? Wait for Vaccines.
Yesterday President Joe Biden surprised investors and signed the American Rescue Plan a day early. Following it up in a televised address last night, he made even more waves on Wall Street.
Biden says he wants the country close to normal by July 4. To help make that happen, he has ordered all state governments to open up vaccines to their entire populations by the start of May. This comes as he continues to order more doses, and as more companies eye the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for regulation. Yesterday, Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) shared that its vaccine was 96% effective in preventing cases of the original strain of Covid-19. These results come from a late-stage trial in the United Kingdom, where it could soon receive approval. After that, Novavax wants to be a participant in the U.S. vaccine rollout.
Investors likely know that Biden promised to vaccinate 100 million Americans in 100 days. Approximately a month ahead of schedule on that goal, he continues to acquire more doses. Through these acquisitions, such as 100 million new doses from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), the May timeline gains legitimacy. Additionally, he said last night that the federal government would roll out a vaccine website by May to help Americans find and schedule appointments.
So what else should you watch? Although the vaccine story is starting to sound like a done deal with players like Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) leading the way, there are other names to watch. Reuters says Novavax could receive authorization in the U.S. as May. AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) is sorting through rollout halts in Europe, and Ocugen (NASDAQ:OCGN) is still counting on its partner Bharat Biotech. Who will get the last slices of the vaccine pie?
Time to Start Building
Now that Biden has checked the stimulus plan off his to-do list, investors are waiting for him to address his infrastructure promises.
His initial campaign promises included $2 trillion to invest in clean energy infrastructure. This created a rush of interest in renewable energy stocks that continues today. We could see an expanded national charging system for electric vehicles, including for fuel cell electric vehicles. We could see more pushes for residential and commercial uses of solar power. Electric car stocks, battery stocks, hydrogen stocks and solar stocks would all be beneficiaries.
Now, his plan could total $4 trillion over several years as other Democrats push for a focus on more traditional infrastructure spending. This would include fixing bridges, roads and even the supply chain for semiconductors, which has been impacted by Covid-19. As Shawn Donnan wrote for Bloomberg Businessweek, it may be the perfect time for such a plan. It could get more Americans back to work and revitalize parts of the economy. However, the infrastructure plan already faces a lot of pushback.
So what should investors watch? Right now, Biden faces the dilemma of getting Republicans on board. Concerns over the high price tag and renewable energy focus pose problems. Plus, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin has already promised to block infrastructure plans that come without Republican support. The road ahead may not be smooth, but it seems that infrastructure spending is coming in some form. Picking the winning stocks now may just be a risky bet.
Dear Netflix, Please Stop
What better way to start Friday off than learning you may no longer be able to log into Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) with your best friend or former partner’s login?
The streaming giant made waves following news it would crack down on password sharing. This may not be moving the market, but after a hard few weeks for tech, it is worth paying attention to. NFLX stock is down just over 2% this morning. The broader Nasdaq Composite is down just over 1%.
So what should you know now? Netflix appears to be simply testing a feature that sends warnings to users they expect are sharing passwords. It just may be time to find out a better way to binge watch Criminal Minds episodes.
On the date of publication, Sarah Smith did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Sarah Smith is a Web Content Producer with InvestorPlace.com.
