The Fed is continuing to debate over when to cut down on pandemic spending, and things are still as unclear as they were last week. Meanwhile biotech and pharmaceutical stocks shot up with lots of big announcements. So what did the stock market do today?
- The S&P 500 closed up 0.20%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.06%
- The Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.36%
So what else did the stock market do today? Here are some of the top stories.
What Did the Stock Market Do Today? Biotech Stocks Got Red-Hot.
Today was quite a day for biotech and pharmaceutical stocks. It seemed like most every company had some optimistic news about a drug trial or some sort of approval. Investors who like to dabble in these fields were surely tuned in to the multiple big gainers, and if you are lucky, you might’ve been a holder in a company that rocketed today.
India Globalization Capital (NASDAQ:IGC) was one such company. The cannabis-centered play is seeing approval for their THC Alzheimer’s treatment patent. The company now has legal protection around its IGC-AD1 therapy, which it formulated thanks to its exclusive licensing agreement with the University of South Florida. The news preceded gains of over 87% for the stock. In the same vein, Cassava Sciences (NASDAQ:SAVA) continued its gains from yesterday’s announcement that it would be presenting data on two new Alzheimer’s products — a detection test and an oral treatment.
Meanwhile, other companies are soaring as they unveil products to fight against Covid-19. NRx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:NRXP) is winning big on today’s session as it announces the successful commercial formulation of its Zyesami injection. The drug is making a splash as it is showing efficacy in treating more severe respiratory symptoms in Covid-19 patients. The company is moving up by nearly 63% ahead of emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Likewise, ImmunoPrecise (NASDAQ:IPA) is causing waves with its Covid news. The biopharma play is flexing its vaccine’s test trial data today, in which it is proving to be resilient against the highly transmissible delta variant. IPA stock is proving to be the biggest winner in this space today, with gains well over 138% in a single session.
The Fed Talked Tapering
The economic recovery from the Covid-fueled recession is happening faster than anybody anticipated — even the Central Bank is taken by surprise. Even so, up until today, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has been hesitant to reduce the government’s big spending. But now, Powell and other Fed officials are spurring more debate over whether that time to taper is sooner or later.
Powell is suggesting today that the Fed is in the midst of two major debates internally: when to begin tapering down the government’s Treasury and mortgage security spending, and just how much they should taper the spending. This comes as a surprise to some, especially after Powell spoke reluctantly about tapering just days ago in front of Congress.
As inflation continues to shake investors, Powell wants to keep government recovery spending high. With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine what timeframe would appease both Powell, who believes inflation will stay elevated, and other Fed officials who want to taper sooner rather than later. According to the Wall Street Journal, some discussions don’t suggest tapering until October of 2022, to ensure recovery is going according to plan and inflation has truly peaked.
All in all, the discussion presents a very interesting battle for the Fed going forward. The idea of near-zero interest rates may not come as a pleasant surprise to many, and the big spending by the government is prolonging a time of high risk-taking on the stock market. Hopefully, we get some more details surrounding these debates soon.
What Else We’re Watching
- Domino’s Pizza (NYSE:DPZ) is reporting its fifth straight quarter of double-digit revenue growth. The news is inflating DPZ stock by over 14%.
- Database software company Couchbase (NASDAQ:BASE) went public today via initial public offering (IPO). The stock is seeing a 26% increase on its initial price after its first day of trading.
- Uber (NYSE:UBER) is buying Transplace, a logistics software company, for $2.25 billion. The move is part of an effort to bulk up the company’s Uber Freight division.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick 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.
