Latest Updates:
- Perseverance Rover Lands on Mars
- Major Indices Trim Gains, Close Down
- Robinhood CEO Defends Trading Halt
- 4 Space Stocks to Buy for the Mars Countdown
- Midday Update: Dow Sheds 200+ Points
Perseverance Rover Lands on Mars
[Thursday, February 18, 4:12 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
The Perseverance rover has successfully landed on Mars, marking a historic success for NASA. In the coming days, the team will be evaluating the health and safety of the rover, and then progress with its Mars mission. Its job is to explore the Jezero Crater, where it landed, which is an ancient lake from approximately 3.9 billion years ago. The rover will look for microfossils and other forms of ancient life.
Here are four stocks InvestorPlace analyst Luke Lango thinks will benefit from growing interest and activity in the Space Race 2.0.
Hello, world. My first look at my forever home. #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/dkM9jE9I6X
— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 18, 2021
Major Indices Trim Gains, Close Down
[Thursday, February 18, 4:04 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- The S&P 500 closed lower by 0.44%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 0.38%
- The Nasdaq Composite closed lower by 0.72%
- The Russell 2000 closed lower by 1.39%
Robinhood CEO Defends Trading Halt
[Thursday, February 18, 4:02 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
Investors got another chance to hear about the GameStop (NYSE:GME) saga today, including what went wrong. As part of that, lawmakers wanted to question Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, who has spoken out about a company decision to halt trading and place restrictions on high-flying equities.
What did Tenev say? He used the opportunity to apologize to investors, but he defended the decision to halt trading. According to the CEO, allegations that Robinhood was acting on behalf of hedge funds are “absolutely false.”
GameStop closed out Thursday lower by 11.4%. AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC), another popular Reddit stock, closed lower by 1.2%. Both are up slightly in after-hours trading.
4 Space Stocks to Buy for the Mars Countdown
[Thursday, February 18, 2:29 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
In just a few hours, the Perseverance rover should be touching down in Jezero crater on Mars. Yes, the planet Mars. This historical feat is part of the Mars 2020 rover mission from the Mars Exploration Program at NASA. Beyond the Perseverance rover, it also includes the Ingenuity helicopter drone. It also comes at a time when consumers and investors are heavily tuned into what some experts are calling the Space Race 2.0.
In other words, the stars are aligning behind a new wave of companies. The Perseverance rover is just one step — some like billionaire Elon Musk dream of building a human colony on Mars. Before we get there, Musk is squaring off with Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and a handful of other leaders in a new generation of space exploration and discovery. The timing is perfect, according to InvestorPlace analyst Luke Lango, because the technology, costs and interest are all coming together.
No matter what happens with Perseverance, investors should persevere with space stocks. Here are four names worthy of your attention:
- Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE)
- Momentus (NASDAQ:SRAC)
- Maxar Technologies (NYSE:MAXR)
- SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:NPA)
Midday Update: Dow Sheds 200+ Points
[Thursday, February 18, 12:51 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- The S&P 500 is down 0.78%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.71%
- The Nasdaq Composite is down 1.14%
- The Russell 2000 is down 1.64%
Robinhood Plans to Allow Crypto Deposits, Withdrawals
[Thursday, February 18, 12:48 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
As Robinhood remains in the spotlight, the company is making plans to cater to cryptocurrency customers. According to a new series of tweets, it is working to integrate crypto deposits and withdrawals. This means that instead of simply buying and selling using fiat currencies, Robinhood customers could transfer their holdings to another wallet or use a Robinhood digital wallet to store their cryptocurrencies. One way to see this is a means to attract crypto bulls, and to raise legitimacy.
However, the announcement also comes alongside great speculation. Some investors want more details on the plans — when will the integrations be ready, who will have access to the wallets and what other ways can Robinhood make the process transparent? Plus, with Elon Musk joining in on the frenzy, rumors are swirling. The latest theory speculates that Robinhood is the largest holder of Dogecoin (CCC:DOGE).
For more, read the InvestorPlace.com brief on the Robinhood crypto news here.
3 Big Stories to Watch Today
[Thursday, February 18, 10:17 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- Texas. The energy crisis in Texas continues, with one count showing 2.7 million homes still without power as of Wednesday night. Frigid temperatures, blackouts and now a water shortage are weighing on the state, days after each of its 254 counties faced a winter storm warning. As the rest of the United States watches, the blame game heats up. At this point, it is not entirely clear what went wrong when the storm hit. However, a variety of factors like an isolated grid are contributing to the extended shutoffs. For investors, the energy crisis is playing out in several ways. The first is that hydrogen stocks and other renewable energy plays are suffering this morning. This comes as lawmakers, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, point fingers at renewable energy. Despite a lack of evidence, Abbott and other Republicans say renewable energy is to blame for the crisis. FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ:FCEL) and Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) are down on the news. The other stock market ramification comes from business closures.
- GameStop does not stop. Weeks after retail investors spurred a major rally in GameStop (NYSE:GME) and other equities, a handful of the key players will go before Congress today. Lawmakers plan to question Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, Melvin Capital founder Gabe Plotkin and trader Keith Gill, who posted on r/WallStreetBets under the pseudonym “Roaring Kitty.” Investors will likely be closely watching this news.
- Covid-19, continued. Many of the latest Covid-19 headlines focus on the vaccine rollout. The latest estimates show that about 15 million Americans have received a second dose of the shot, and researchers continue to evaluate vaccine efficacy against emerging strains. However, another headline today warrants investor attention. According to new data through June 2020, life expectancy at birth for the total U.S. population fell to 77.8 years. This is the lowest level since 2006, and marks a one-year drop from 2019. Additionally, life expectancy at birth fell even more for Black Americans and Latinos.
Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Rise
[Thursday, February 18, 9:38 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
Uh oh. In what is looking to be a rough day for the stock market, the weekly jobless claims report is doing nothing to help matters. Investors learned today that 861,000 Americans filed for initial unemployment benefits in the past week. This comes in worse than expectations for 773,000 Americans, and worse than 848,000 Americans last week. Perhaps most importantly, it also marks a second week of the report unexpectedly remaining above the 800,000 threshold.
What should you keep in mind? Other economic indicators this week pointed to signs of recovery, including improving retail sales. As lawmakers continue to push for further Covid-19 stimulus, we could also see some relief for those who are unemployed.
Major Indices Open Thursday in the Red
[Thursday, February 18, 9:33 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- The S&P 500 opened lower by 0.74%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened lower by 0.65%
- The Nasdaq Composite opened lower by 1.07%
- The Russell 2000 opened lower by 0.74%
Stock Market Futures Point to Lower Open
[Thursday, February 18, 7:54 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- S&P 500 futures are down 0.34%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 0.29%
- Nasdaq Composite futures are down 0.67%
- Russell 2000 futures are down 0.31%
