Good morning and welcome to the stock market today! A look at some of the top market gainers and losers this morning gives investors a taste of what to expect — lots of crypto news, penny stock stumbles and merger excitement. So what else will the stock market do today? Dive in with InvestorPlace.
To start, the major indices are split. The Dow Jones Industrial Average took the biggest hit on Tuesday, and is now down 0.49%. The S&P 500 is flat, and the Nasdaq Composite has actually powered higher, gaining 0.74%.
So what else will the stock market do today? Here are the top stories you should be watching.
What Will the Stock Market Do Today? Talk Vaccines.
Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked states to pause the rollout of the Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) vaccine, acting “out of an abundance of caution.” This follows reports of a rare blood clotting disorder in six women who had received the vaccine.
According to the FDA, all six cases of this blood clotting disorder occurred in women ages 18 to 48. Symptoms developed six to 13 days after these women received the single-shot Covid-19 vaccine. Additionally, the FDA says that the standard treatment for that type of blood clot could be dangerous in this situation, further complicating matters.
Today FDA and @CDCgov issued a statement regarding the Johnson & Johnson #COVID19 vaccine. We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution.
— U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) April 13, 2021
At this point, 6.8 million Americans have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, leading regulators to say that this side effect appears extremely rare. Johnson & Johnson has also said there is no clear relationship between its vaccine and the blood clotting disorder, although it is working with regulators. The FDA said it will hold a press conference with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at 10 a.m. Eastern.
So where do things go from here? Already, health officials are warning that this will complicate the vaccine rollout in the United States. Dr. Kavita Patel, a primary care physician, told CNBC that it will be hard for Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) to fill in the gaps with their two-shot vaccines. Additionally, fear of these side effects could affect consumer demand for the Covid-19 shots.
For the stock market, we may see an initial rally in PFE stock, MRNA stock and BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) stock. A stumble for a major competitor is a victory, right? Not so fast. Although Pfizer and Moderna may gain on Tuesday, the longer-term victory for Wall Street comes in widespread vaccination. It will be important for investors to follow the news and stay up-to-date with what the FDA is recommending.
JNJ stock is down more than 2.5% at the time of writing. MRNA stock is up more than 6%.
The Coinbase IPO Gives Bitcoin a Record Push
Bitcoin (CCC:BTC) hit a new all-time high above $63,000 this morning. Ethereum (CCC:ETH) touched a new high of its own, coming in above $2,200 for the first time ever. Altcoins like XRP (CCC:XRP), Dogecoin (CCC:DOGE) and Stellar (CCC:XLM) are also big gainers on Tuesday morning.
So where do these moves come from? Broadly, cryptocurrency sentiment has been hot, with mainstream support growing since the end of 2020. Major institutions are climbing on board, with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) rolling out payment integrations and Walmart (NYSE:WMT) allegedly adding BTC to its balance sheet. Regulators are also warming up, with applications for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds rushing in. Just yesterday, Canadian firm Galaxy Digital (OTCMKTS:BRPHF) gained on news it had submitted its application for a U.S. Bitcoin ETF.
While these catalysts are certainly help heat up the crypto space, the Coinbase IPO is another huge driver. COIN stock is set to start trading on April 14, and Wall Street is ready.
In fact, with analysts setting price targets on COIN stock as high as $600, it is clear why the interest is so huge. Simply put, Coinbase is a huge player in the crypto space. Experts believe it has a real impact on the cryptocurrencies listed on its platform, and its IPO signifies a milestone in the race to relevancy. Ahead of and following the Coinbase IPO, expect a broader re-rating of crypto assets.
What Else We’re Watching
- Altimeter Growth (NASDAQ:AGC) confirmed it was acquiring Grab, the Singapore-based ride-hailing startup. The Grab SPAC merger is already turning heads with its $40 billion valuation, and its significance in the recovering ride-hailing industry. Rival Uber (NYSE:UBER) just reported its best month of bookings ever.
- On that note, Uber itself is turning heads. The company said that, pending regulatory approval, its ride-hailing and food-delivery businesses could facilitate cannabis delivery.
- DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) is stirring up buzz on Tuesday after launching a big media push. Sara Fischer writes for Axios that this plan will include potential media acquisitions and other content effort. Owning the content could be a cheaper way for DraftKings to grow.
- The New York Stock Exchange minted six non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Monday, representing six tech stocks. As Danny Nelson wrote for CoinDesk, they are not currently for sale.
- The consumer price index rose by 0.6% in March, a larger jump than experts anticipated. Jeff Cox wrote for CNBC that a 9.1% jump in gasoline prices is largely responsible.
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.
