The major indexes are all on track to open higher following Congress' confirmation of Joe Biden as president
Stock futures are higher this morning, in the wake of Congress' long awaited confirmation of the Electoral College win for Joe Biden -- brushing off the insurrection that occurred after President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol building early Wednesday evening. Following the events, Trump said "there will be an orderly transition on January 20th," though he continued to stoke the fires of unfounded conspiracies that the election was rigged. In the wake of the events at the Capitol, several members of the Trump Administration have resigned, including Trump's Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney.
As a result, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are up over 120 points, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are also notably higher. Elsewhere, weekly jobless claims for the week ended Jan. 2 came in at 787,000, showing little change despite warnings that hiring is slowing down.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- This restaurant stock should be on every bull trader's radar.
- With earnings on the horizon, CCL takes a dip.
- Plus, one blue-chip stock that beat forecasts; why CureVac is surging ahead of the bell; and more on Costco's stellar year.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 2.3 million call contracts traded on Wednesday, and 914,776 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.39 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.44.
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Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) is up 2.8% ahead of the bell, after the blue-chip giant beat Wall Street's earnings and revenue estimates in its latest quarterly report. The company is maintaining its prior fiscal 2021 forecast, despite the unique challenges brought on by the pandemic. Year-over-year, WBA has backpedaled 27%.
- CureVac BV (NASDAQ:CVAC) is surging in pre-market trading, up 15.7% after striking a massive vaccine deal with Bayer, the aim of which is to help Bayer gain regulatory approval for its vaccine and to distribute doses. Over the last three months, CVAC has added 53.8%.
- The shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) are up 0.6% in before the open, after the company reported a 12% pop in December sales, compared to a year earlier. The retailer saw an increase in sales of frozen food and liquor, while comparable store sales were also up 10.7%. Over the past nine months, COST has surged 24%.
- Today, the first round of jobless claims data of the year due out. Additionally, investors will be looking at trade deficit data for November, and the ISM non-manufacturing index.
Markets in Asia, Europe Climb Following Democratic Sweep in Georgia Runoff Elections
Asian markets climbed higher on Thursday, with the exception of the Hong Kong Hang Seng, which dropped 0.5%, after the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) went back on its decision not to delist several Chinese telecommunications firms, and moved forward with suspending three securities. Meanwhile, the Nikkei in Japan jumped 1.6%, touching a 52-week high earlier in the session. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi gained 2.1%, and China’s Shanghai composite added 0.7%.
European markets are mostly higher at midday, following yesterday’s Georgia Senate runoff election in the U.S., with a projected win for Democrats. The French CAC 40 and German DAX are both up 0.4%. Meanwhile, the London FTSE 100 is down 0.4%, as lockdown measures continue to weigh on stocks.