What Will the Stock Market Do Today? 3 Big Stories to Watch.

Advertisement

Good morning and welcome to the stock market today! Investors are pushing through the week, cryptocurrencies are rebounding, and tech stocks are looking toward recovery. So in the midst of all this, what will the stock market do today?

Street sign for Wall Street pictured in front of several American flags representing american stocks

Source: Shutterstock

  • The S&P 500 is up 0.1%
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.03%
  • The Nasdaq Composite is up 0.2%

So what else will the stock market do today? Here are some of the top stories.

What Will the Stock Market Do Today? Talk Blockchain.

Elon Musk is apparently feeling refreshed after the weekend and ready to take on the crypto sphere. Through just one tweet yesterday, he added $38 billion to the Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) market in 18 minutes.

So what happened? On Monday afternoon, Musk tweeted that he spoke to a group of North American Bitcoin miners. As a result, he says these mining companies have committed to publish and share their current use of renewable energy. This comes after Musk — also through Twitter — took a stand against Bitcoin mining. Despite his support for cryptos, he said Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) would no longer accept BTC as a form of payment. Citing the growing energy consumption associated with Bitcoin mining, Musk said he had to break ties.

Since then, he has been on a hunt for cleaner crypto.

It seems that through these endeavors, and crypto influencer Michael Saylor, Musk is making those dreams a reality. Saylor added more context on Monday, saying he hosted the meeting between Musk and the miners. Executives from Argo Blockchain (OTCMKTS:ARBKF), Galaxy Digital (OTCMKTS:BRPHF), Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) and Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ:RIOT), among others, were in attendance. Saylor says the end result is a commitment to ESG goals and standardized reporting.

So what is the bottom line? Right now, it is unclear what will come from this crypto meeting, especially as Musk said any BTC replacement for Tesla would need to use less than 1% of the energy. However, any efforts that could bring back Musk’s laser eyes appear to be enough to trigger bullish sentiment.

Bonus Story: Bitcoin has been a worse store of value than avocadoes, the beloved breakfast food of millennials.

Vaccines, Books, Backpacks

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) announced today that its Covid-19 vaccine is 100% effective in recipients between the ages of 12 and 17. As a result, CEO Stéphane Bancel says the company will submit the data to regulators in early June, in hopes of receiving emergency-use authorization for adolescents.

So why does this matter? Moderna will not be first to the finish line to vaccinate teenagers, as Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) has already received emergency-use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, with a new academic year just a few months away, public health officials are hoping to disseminate as many doses as possible. That would allow a more normal back-to-school season, and help as states and localities push for a traditional return to school. New York City is already embracing a full return, an indicator of what is likely to come across the country.

For investors, this return to school also comes with a big economic band-aid. According to a new paper, the cost of school closures will creep into the trillions. Researchers say these closures could reduce U.S. GDP by 3.6% and hourly wages by 3.5% by 2050.

There is no immediate solution, as these researchers write, but a more normal 2021-2022 school year would certainly help. Other suggestions include extending the upcoming school year.

The Bottom Line: Virtual learning had far-reaching economic impacts, and placed a huge strain on families, educators and communities. Expanded uses for Moderna and Pfizer vaccines could accelerate the return to schools and ease confidence around such a transition. For investors, one big ripple effect to watch is how this impacts virtual learning plays like Zoom (NASDAQ:ZM). While a hybrid model of working and learning looks set to continue, we will do much more in-person mingling in the coming months. How Zoom and its online peers navigate back-to-school season will be telling.

What Else We’re Watching

  • Investors are looking ahead to Wednesday for the direct listing of ZipRecruiter. Currently, the company plans to hit the New York Stock Exchange as ZIP stock. Most importantly, ZipRecruiter has grown in relevance during the pandemic, thanks to its business as a job search engine.
  • Electric vehicle stocks like Nio (NYSE:NIO) have struggled in recent weeks, but the Chinese firm saw a pop on Monday. This rally comes as the company announces plans to double its annual production capacity to 240,000.
  • Peloton (NASDAQ:PTON) is opening its first facility in the U.S. It will invest $400 million to launch operations in Ohio, and hopes to be producing equipment there by 2023.

On the date of publication, Sarah Smith did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

Sarah Smith is the Editor of Today’s Market with InvestorPlace.com. 


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2021/05/what-will-the-stock-market-do-today-3-big-stories-blockchain-stocks-mrna-stock/.

©2024 InvestorPlace Media, LLC