Another busy day on tap with economic reports and light earnings data
Stocks were all over on Monday. After jumping to record highs yesterday as the rollout of Pfizer's (PFE) and BioNTech's (BNTX) COVID-19 vaccine commenced in the U.S., the Dow slipped into the red by the end of Monday's trading session. The potential for further virus-related restrictions weighed on investors' minds. A bipartisan group of lawmakers is expected to propose a $908 billion stimulus package soon. The rising number of COVID-19 cases made headlines, after the U.S. death toll broke the 300,000 record this weekend.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 29,861.55) fell 184.8 points, or 0.6% on Monday. The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 3,647.49) dropped 16 points and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 12,440.04) was up 62.2 points on Monday. THe Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 24.72) increased 6.05% during Monday's trading session.
Today will be a much busier and more event-driven day for investors, with the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) two-day meeting kicking off. Industrial production and capacity utilization data are also due out. In addition, the import price and Empire State manufacturing indexes are on tap for today. As for earnings, there will be another small handful released today.
For your convenience, we have rounded up the companies slated to release earnings today, December 15:
American Outdoor Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:AOUT -- $14.07) provides outdoor products and accessories for rugged outdoor enthusiasts. American Outdoor Brands will report its second-quarter earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.
Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ:NDSN -- $199.72) engineers, manufactures, and markets products and systems to dispense, apply, and control adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants, biomaterials, and other fluids. Nordson will report its fourth-quarter earnings after the market closes today.
Looking ahead to tomorrow, the Fed meeting will wrap up, and investor attention will shift to retail sales data, as well as the Markit manufacturing and services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI). The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) index is also scheduled to come out on Wednesday, and so is business inventories data. Rounding out the day will be an announcement from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. All economic dates listed here are tentative and subject to change.