Here are today’s market moves:
S&P 500 up 1.39% to 3,826.31
Dow Jones up 1.57% to 30,687.48
Nasdaq up 1.56% to 13,612.78
Gold: $1,836
Bitcoin: $35,768
US10Y: 1.098%
What Happened?
U.S. stocks rose Tuesday, reflecting a calmer tone for markets this week after their worst week since October last week.
Investor confidence has been boosted by strong earnings reports from companies as well as a drop in COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and other major economies.
Investors are closely watching talks in Washington surrounding another round of coronavirus relief. Republican senators outlined a $618 billion offer, including $1000 stimulus checks for many Americans. Their plan, however, left out aid for state and local governments.
Stocks at the center of a social media frenzy, such as GameStop and AMC, tumbled today. GameStop shares closed the day down 60% and AMC shares were down 41%.
In 2021, retail trading has exploded in popularity as remarkable moves in “meme stocks” such as GameStop attracted many new investors to the market.
In January, U.S. off-exchange stock trading volumes were higher than the entire stock market’s average trading volume for 2019.
Amazon announced its fourth quarter earnings results today. It reported more than $100 billion in revenue for the first time. The company also announced that Jeff Bezos will step down as CEO and transition to the role of executive chairman.
Google parent company Alphabet also reported its Q4 earnings, beating analysts’ estimates thanks to continued growth in its cloud business and increased spending by advertisers.
What Else?
This Week
Monday: Earnings expected from Nintendo and Warner Music Group.
Tuesday: Earnings expected from Amazon, Google, Alibaba, Chipotle, ExxonMobil, BP, Pfizer, and UPS; Reserve Bank of Australia’s policy decision released.
Wednesday: Earnings expected from PayPal, Spotify, and Sony.
Thursday: Weekly jobless claims; Earnings expected from Ford, Pinterest, Snap, and Clorox.
Friday: January U.S. payrolls report and unemployment rate released.