S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record highs with Apple, Tesla earnings on tap
Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Tesla report this week
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed to record highs Monday as investors readied for a busy week of technology earnings and the busiest for the fourth quarter reporting season.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 23031.213218 | +490.63 | +2.18% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 6932.3 | +133.90 | +1.97% |
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 50115.67 | +1,206.95 | +2.47% |
The benchmark S&P 500 added 0.36% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was higher by 0.69% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 36 points, or 0.12%. The Dow finished 0.7% below its own record peak.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 278.12 | +2.21 | +0.80% |
| FB | PROSHARES TRUST S&P 500 DYNAMIC BUFFER ETF | 42.42 | +0.35 | +0.84% |
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 401.14 | +7.47 | +1.90% |
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 411.11 | +13.90 | +3.50% |
The advance gave the Nasdaq a fourth straight record-high close as investors await earnings from heavyweights Apple Inc., Facebook Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Tesla Inc. later this week.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBUX | STARBUCKS CORP. | 99.45 | +3.38 | +3.52% |
| MCD | MCDONALD'S CORP. | 327.16 | +3.68 | +1.14% |
Other companies set to report their quarterly results over the next five days include McDonald's Corp. and Starbucks Corp. as well as the major airlines, among others.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRK | MERCK & CO. INC. | 121.93 | +2.18 | +1.82% |
| PFE | PFIZER INC. | 27.22 | +0.73 | +2.76% |
| BNTX | BIONTECH SE | 106.62 | +1.08 | +1.02% |
Elsewhere, Merck & Co. ended its pursuit of a COVID-19 vaccine and will instead focus on the development of therapeutics for those who already have the disease.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved for emergency use in Australia and AstraZeneca Plc told European Union officials that production problems would result in the delivery of 60% fewer vaccines than promised in the first quarter.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMC | AMC ENTERTAINMENT HOLDINGS INC | 1.49 | +0.09 | +6.05% |
Meanwhile, AMC Entertainment raised $917 million in debt and equity, tabling talk the embattled movie chain would file for bankruptcy. The company said the funds extends its financial runway "deep into 2021."
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GME | GAMESTOP CORP. | 24.99 | +0.33 | +1.34% |
GameStop shares squeezed higher Monday as short-sellers continued to rush for the exit after short interest recently reached more than 150% of shares outstanding. The stock had soared 226% from its Jan. 12 close through Friday.
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil rallied 50 cents to $52.77 per barrel and gold slipped 80 cents to $1,854.90 per ounce.
European markets were lower across the board with Britain’s FTSE 100 weaker by 0.84% while France’s CAC 40 fell 1.57% and Germany’s DAX 30 lost 1.66%.
In Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite index added 0.49%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.67% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 2.41%.