Latest Updates:
- Dow Closes Out Thursday Slightly Lower
- Solar Stocks Gain on Biden's Climate Actions
- 7 Airline Stocks to Buy on Covid-19 Vaccine Progress
- Midday Update: S&P 500, Dow Dip
- How to Play the Defense Production Act
Dow Closes Out Thursday Slightly Lower
[Thursday, January 21, 4:02 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- The S&P 500 closed higher by 0.03%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 0.04%
- The Nasdaq Composite closed higher by 0.55%
- The Russell 2000 closed lower by 0.59%
Solar Stocks Gain on Biden's Climate Actions
[Thursday, January 21, 2:34 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
President Joe Biden is also having an impact on solar stocks. In his first full day in his office, he continues to commit to his climate agenda. He rejoined the Paris climate deal, scrapped the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and is blocking land development at certain national wildlife monuments.
Encouraged by these early pro-climate moves, investors are bidding solar equities up. Gainers today include SolarEdge (NASDAQ:SEDG), First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) and Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ).
For more, read the InvestorPlace.com brief on solar stocks here.
7 Airline Stocks to Buy on Covid-19 Vaccine Progress
[Thursday, January 21, 2:29 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
This has not been an easy few months for travel stocks. Stay-at-home orders, business closures and widespread fears of Covid-19 kept recreational travelers at home. Plus, with so many businesses pivoting to a work-from-home model complete with video conferencing, there has been little need for company trips. Existing data backs this reality up. Hotel occupancy rates hit a record low in 2020, as the industry reported 1 billion unsold rooms. Passenger throughput on airlines also fell drastically.
Things could be changing though for the hard-hit sector.
In the last few weeks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized two Covid-19 vaccines, one from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and one from Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA). President Joe Biden is now working to take vaccine progress even further. Beyond promising to vaccinate 100 million Americans in 100 days, he has signed a series of executive orders to up the national response. Today, these included new mask mandates and plans to up testing around the country. Combine these with his $1.9 trillion stimulus package, and there is reason to believe the economy will rebound nicely.
Enter top airline stocks. As Muslim Farooque wrote today, seven airline names have started to rebound thanks to vaccine news. With Biden in the White House, investors are betting things will keep getting better. If they do, you will want these airline stocks in your portfolio:
- American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL)
- Delta Airlines (NYSE:DAL)
- Hawaiian Airlines (NASDAQ:HA)
- United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL)
- Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV)
- Copa Airlines (NYSE:CPA)
- Volaris (NYSE:VLRS)
Midday Update: S&P 500, Dow Dip
[Thursday, January 21, 1:10 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- The S&P 500 is down 0.02%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.11%
- The Nasdaq Composite is up 0.41%
- The Russell 2000 is down 0.8%
How to Play the Defense Production Act
[Thursday, January 21, 12:06 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
President Joe Biden is making big moves as he kicks off his first full day in office. Many of those moves revolve around the national response to Covid-19, a key area of interest for investors.
Essentially, Biden and his team argue that former President Donald Trump left too much up to individual states. Now, through centralizing the response, the federal government can flex its muscles and prioritize beating the pandemic. He wants to vaccinate 100 million Americans in 100 days, allocate emergency funds to help reopen schools and build new testing and vaccine clinics across the U.S. Biden also is expected to invoke the Defense Production Act to mobilize production and churn out personal protective equipment.
Not sure what that means or how to profit? You can check out the InvestorPlace.com roundup of 16 Biden stocks to buy for a Defense Production Act boost.
Major Indices Launch Thursday Higher
[Thursday, January 21, 9:31 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- The S&P 500 opened higher by 0.17%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened higher by 0.11%
- The Nasdaq Composite opened higher by 1.97%
- The Russell 2000 opened higher by 0.44%
3 Big Stories to Watch Today
[Thursday, January 21, 8:46 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- The Biden market. Investors got their first glimpse of the stock market under President Joe Biden yesterday. Broadly, the day was a rosy start to his four-year term, free from panic or a massive selloff that some experts feared. More specifically, it provided insight on the short-term winners and losers in a Biden administration. Big Tech names set all-time highs yesterday, propelling the Nasdaq Composite to hit its own all-time high. As Dion Rabouin wrote for Axios, other early winners included online gambling names Penn National (NASDAQ:PENN) and DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG). Losers included cannabis firms, private prison operators and payday lenders.
- Executive orders. First-day actions by Biden were in the spotlight yesterday, as the new president worked to reverse measures from the era of former President Donald Trump. Biden rejoined the World Health Organization and the Paris climate deal. He also blocked permits for the Keystone XL pipeline. Today, he is expected to sign an additional 10 executive orders focusing on the national Covid-19 response. These will include using disaster funds to help reopen schools, mandating masks on planes and buses, and establishing a Covid-19 testing board. Investors likely see these measures as a way to restore confidence in the reopening trajectory.
- Jobless claims. Investors learned this morning that 900,000 Americans filed for initial jobless benefits in the past week. This is slightly lower than estimates of 925,000, and below the 926,000 reported last week. As we have seen before, there are two sides to the weekly looks at unemployment. Some will choose to see this as a slight improvement, especially in the context of coming stimulus funding. Others will highlight that claims remain stubbornly high, still at levels not seen before the pandemic hit the U.S. in March. No matter your perspective today, it will be important to watch and wait for further action on the current $1.9 trillion stimulus proposal.
Stock Market Futures Are Slightly Positive Thursday
[Thursday, January 21, 7:30 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- S&P 500 futures are up 0.25%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 0.23%
- Nasdaq Composite futures are up 0.43%
- Russell 2000 futures are up 0.32%
