Latest Updates:
- Stocks Close Down After Rocky Start to the Week
- VIX Climbs With Political Uncertainty Growing
- Nio Races Higher After Launching All-Electric ET7 Sedan
- Midday Update: Small-Cap Stocks Lead the Way
- Where Is Bitcoin Headed After Pullback?
Stocks Close Down After Rocky Start to the Week
[Monday, January 11, 4:07 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- The S&P 500 closed lower by 0.66%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 0.29%
- The Nasdaq Composite closed lower by 1.25%
- The Russell 2000 closed lower by 0.07%
VIX Climbs With Political Uncertainty Growing
[Monday, January 11, 4:02 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
What will happen in Washington? Will the rest of the days leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden go smoothly? Without clear-cut answers to those questions, the stock market launched a rocky start to the week. In fact, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), often considered a measure of investor fear, climbed on Monday.
So what is happening right now? With just minutes to go until the closing bell, Speaker Nancy Pelosi once again said the House of Representatives would move to impeach Donald Trump. Lawmakers have already introduced an article of impeachment that has 218 co-sponsors, enough to guarantee it passes. However, Pelosi said she is waiting for further action from Vice President Mike Pence. She said on Monday that if Pence does not invoke the 25th Amendment by Wednesday, she will let House Democrats move forward with the impeachment process.
Nio Races Higher After Launching All-Electric ET7 Sedan
[Monday, January 11, 1:42 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio (NYSE:NIO) is watching its shares race higher on Monday after hosting its annual Nio Day event over the weekend. One of the largest catalysts comes from its new all-electric sedan the ET7, representing a move into a new corner of the passenger vehicle market and advancements in its battery and autonomous driving technology.
As InvestorPlace Web Editor Nick Clarkson highlighted today, the ET7 was built with autonomous driving in mind. In addition to the Nio self-driving platform, the sedan includes a variety of LiDAR sensors and high-resolution cameras. The all-electric sedan also marks the launch of the 150 kilowatt hour battery — just a few months after Nio made headlines with a 100 kWh version. With the launch of the ET7 it looks like there is no denying that Nio is a real challenger to Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA). For more, read the InvestorPlace.com brief here.
Midday Update: Small-Cap Stocks Lead the Way
[Monday, January 11, 1:06 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- The S&P 500 is down 0.24%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.04%
- The Nasdaq Composite is down 0.58%
- The Russell 2000 is up 0.06%
Where Is Bitcoin Headed After Pullback?
[Monday, January 11, 11:57 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
That is a big question floating around Wall Street today.
Bitcoin (CCC:BTC) has been setting a series of all-time highs, recently stopping just below $42,000. In fact, over the last three weeks, the leading cryptocurrency has more than doubled from $20,000. Now though, a sense of fear is present in the crypto space. On Monday morning, a pullback took bitcoin down to $30,000, wiping out $200 billion from the crypto market. Similarly, news that exchange Bakkt would come public via a special purpose acquisition company has brought VPC Impact Acquisition (NYSE:VIH) down.
But where is bitcoin going? As InvestorPlace contributor Robert Lakin highlighted this morning, many experts still see huge long-term growth in the crypto space. In fact, InvestorPlace analyst Matt McCall sees the asset hitting $100,000 in 2021. For more, you can read the InvestorPlace.com brief on bitcoin price predictions here.
3 Big Stories to Watch
[Monday, January 11, 10:14 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- Chaos in Washington bleeds into Wall Street. Following chaos at the U.S. Capitol last week, a group of companies is responding. This morning JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Citigroup (NYSE:C) became some of the first firms to pause donations to political action committees. Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) is also on the move after permanently suspending the account of President Donald Trump. Importantly, these company announcements come as the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives plans to invoke the 25th Amendment.
- Cryptocurrencies pull back. After touching an all-time high near $42,000, bitcoin (CCC:BTC) has since pulled back in a massive plunge. According to CoinDesk, a likely cause for the plunge is news that miners are selling their inventory and causing panic. The 30-day average of the Miner’s Position Index hit 2.2 on Sunday, marking the highest level since July 2019. As Omkar Godbole wrote, any reading above 2 indicates miner selling. At the time of this writing, bitcoin was trading hands for $33,398.
- Virtual conferences. Find a comfy spot on your couch and get ready to tune in, as several large industry conferences are taking place this week. The first is the annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference. Leading up to the event, healthcare insiders say they expect to hear announcements on innovative fields like telemedicine. However, these experts also expect big moves in healthcare stocks. Why? Many look to the event in anticipation of dealmaking news. The second big conference this week is CES, also set to bring all sorts of updates on innovative consumer tech. What should you watch? According to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, some of the most exciting fields include 5G, semiconductors, autonomous driving, streaming and video games.
Major Indices Remain Negative at Market Open
[Monday, January 11, 9:31 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- The S&P 500 opened lower by 0.88%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened lower by 0.77%
- The Nasdaq Composite opened lower by 1.15%
- The Russell 2000 opened lower by 0.25%
Stock Market Futures Dip Monday
[Monday, January 11, 8:37 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- S&P 5oo futures are down 0.65%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 0.75%
- Nasdaq Composite futures are down 0.69%
- Russell 2000 futures are down 0.92%
