Latest Updates:
- Stocks Closed Friday Out Slightly Higher
- Apple Dips After-Hours on iCar Updates
- SPAC Winners: CCIV Stock Soars in Friday Trading
- Midday Update: Stocks Remain Positive
- Luckin Coffee Files for Bankruptcy
Stocks Closed Friday Out Slightly Higher
[Friday, February 5, 4:49 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- The S&P 500 closed higher by 0.39%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 0.3%
- The Nasdaq Composite closed higher by 0.57%
- The Russell 2000 closed higher by 1.4%
Apple Dips After-Hours on iCar Updates
[Friday, February 5, 4:43 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is down slightly in after-hours trading as Bloomberg reports talks between the iPhone maker and Hyundai-Kia paused recently. Hopes for the so-called Apple iCar have been reinvigorating the electric vehicle market this week.
SPAC Winners: CCIV Stock Soars in Friday Trading
[Friday, February 5, 4:32 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
One of the biggest SPAC winners on Friday was Churchill Capital IV (NYSE:CCIV), the fourth special purpose acquisition company from Michael Klein. Although there is still no confirmation of its target, investors are hoping CCIV stock will bring Lucid Motors public. While the market waits, any news or speculation that a Lucid Motors SPAC merger is coming is quite powerful.
Today, that catalyst came from Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson. During an interview on CNBC, Rawlinson said that he was not able to comment on the SPAC rumors. However, because he did not outright deny them, investors took it as a good sign. CCIV stock closed out Friday higher by 14.7%.
For more, read the InvestorPlace.com brief here.
Midday Update: Stocks Remain Positive
[Friday, February 5, 1:57 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- The S&P 500 is up 0.39%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.27%
- The Nasdaq Composite is up 0.46%
- The Russell 2000 is up 0.92%
Luckin Coffee Files for Bankruptcy
[Friday, February 5, 12:06 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
Today, hard-hit coffee chain Luckin Coffee (OTCMKTS:LKNCY) announced that it was filing for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in the United States. This comes after a series of other upsets for the company, including a massive fraud scandal and a delisting from the Nasdaq Exchange.
So what else do you need to know? For right now, Luckin Coffee will continue operations as normal at its many coffee and tea joints in China. It will continue to work with its stakeholders on a financial restructuring plan, and said it hopes to have more updates soon.
For more, read the InvestorPlace.com brief here.
T2 Biosystems Gains on Covid-19 Testing News
[Friday, February 5, 9:56 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
Diagnostics company T2 Biosystems (NASDAQ:TTOO) is an early winner in the stock market today, with shares up more than 25% after the opening bell. Investors may be aware that T2 pivoted to focus on a Covid-19 test panel earlier on in the pandemic, and says that panel can now deliver accurate results in under two hours. Today, the market is reacting to a positive update about that panel. T2 Biosystems says that its Covid-19 panel can now accurately recognize and diagnose the Brazilian strain of the virus. This is important, especially as many consider the emerging, more infectious strains as a critical component to defeating the pandemic. T2 Biosystems can already diagnose the United Kingdom and South African strains as well.
For more, read the InvestorPlace.com brief on TTOO stock here.
Major Indices Launch Friday in the Green
[Friday, February 5, 9:30 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- The S&P 500 opened higher by 0.49%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened higher by 0.53%
- The Nasdaq Composite opened higher by 0.34%
- The Russell 2000 opened higher by 1.98%
3 Big Stories to Watch Today
[Friday, February 5, 8:49 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- Stimulus. Early on Friday, the Senate passed a budget resolution that incorporates the $1.9 trillion novel coronavirus relief package from President Joe Biden. The vote was split on party lines, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie. Although Biden has said he would like to negotiate with Republican lawmakers about the stimulus, this budget process could allow Democrats to pass the bill through budget reconciliation and avoid the need for Republican votes. What does this mean for investors? Past stimulus packages have buoyed consumer spending and sparked waves of retail investor interest. Look for this package to do the same, and spark a reopening rally. Potential beneficiaries include airline stocks JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU), Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL).
- Vaccine hopes. Yesterday, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shared that it had filed for emergency-use authorization with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. With a regulatory green light expected to come in a few weeks, the United States could soon have its third Covid-19 vaccine. Most importantly, Johnson & Johnson offers a single-shot vaccine. Unlike Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) which each require two doses, Johnson & Johnson believes its candidate is effective after just one dose. Right now, this promises to speed up the vaccination process and help boost the accessibility of the vaccine.
- All about jobs… Investors were hopeful that a pre-market announcement from the U.S. Department of Labor would indicate economic recovery. Instead, we learned that the market added just 49,000 jobs in January, missing expectations for 107,000 new jobs. There were a few positives from the report, however. The first is that the unemployment rate fell from 6.7% to 6.3%. Expectations called for unemployment to hold steady, so the slight beat is certainly a plus.
Stock Market Futures Point to Positive Open
[Friday, February 5, 8:00 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- S&P 500 futures are up 0.45%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 0.43%
- Nasdaq Composite futures are up 0.35%
- Russell 2000 futures are up 0.8%
