Stock Market Futures Gaining Momentum Amid Major Bank Earnings
Stock market futures are climbing higher early on Thursday morning this week. This would be part and parcel of the continuous see-sawing we continue to see in the broader stock market now. As investors try to find a middle ground between positive earnings and less-than-ideal inflation figures, there is plenty of action to note today. For the bulls, the year-end holiday market could arguably see consumers coming out in droves, indicating a recovering economy.
In fact, Thornburg Investment Management’s co-head of investments, Jeff Klingelhofer had this to say, “Consumers today still have elevated savings, and they’ll be drawing that down in the months to come. And so really we are absolutely seeing higher wages trickling into the economy … The key [thing] to watch will be, as the economy continues to heal, as vaccinations continue to increase and businesses open, whether that trend continues.” Nonetheless, there seems to be no shortage of news for investors to consider in the stock market today. As of 6:43 a.m. ET, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures are gaining by 0.59%, 0.65%, and 0.79% respectively.
Plug Power Surging On Wall Street Upgrade And New Airbus Deal
Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG) is looking at some electrifying gains this week. For the uninitiated, it is an electrical equipment manufacturing company. Plug Power primarily develops hydrogen fuel cell systems that serve as cleaner alternatives to conventional batteries. As such, the company would be one to consider among renewable energy stocks now. Notably, PLUG stock soared by over 12% during intraday trading yesterday, its largest jump since June. This is thanks to two key catalysts in the form of an analyst upgrade and its latest partnership.
Diving right into it, Plug Power is now working with aerospace titan Airbus and Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX), an energy manufacturing and logistics firm. Through this collaboration, the trio are now researching methods to integrate green hydrogen with air travel. Considering that Airbus is the largest plane manufacturer in the world, this is a massive win for Plug Power. In detail, Plug Power’s role in this will be designing “non-polluting hydrogen infrastructure” at airports. At the same time, Phillips 66 is working with the company to develop low-carbon hydrogen and related tech.
Adding to all this, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) analyst Stephen Byrd provided a positive update on PLUG stock. Namely, Byrd hit PLUG stock with an Overweight rating and boosted his price target from $35 to $40. This suggests a possible upside of 19% over its price of $33.59 as of Wednesday’s closing bell. Byrd sees Plug Power as a potential leader in the booming hydrogen economy in the long term. With the company’s investor day set to begin later today, PLUG stock could be worth watching today.
Read More
FDA Staff Provides Rosy Update On J&J’s Covid Booster Shot
If it seems like there has been a surplus of Covid vaccine-related news this week, you would not be wrong. Today, the U.S. FDA is set to officially begin its discussion about approving more booster shots. In particular, the shots in focus this round are from Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). The latest news from the FDA comes in the form of a public document from FDA staff released yesterday. Given the overall positive tone of the report, JNJ stock could be a viable play in the stock market today.
In essence, the FDA scientists note that there could be significant benefits to taking another shot of the JNJ vaccine. This would be after two months after the initial dose. Sure, this may not be independently confirmed by FDA datasets as of yet. However, it could indicate the FDA’s potential interest in JNJ’s offerings. Moreover, according to JNJ’s findings, a booster shot of its vaccine bumps up protection from symptomatic infection to 94%. Regardless, as the fight against the pandemic rages on, vaccine stocks continue to thrive.
TSM Posts Quarterly Profits Beat As It Rides Robust Global Chip Demands
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE: TSM), or TSM for short, is making headlines in the stock market now. This would mostly be thanks to the company’s solid earnings figures posted earlier today. Overall, the company posted a net profit of $5.56 billion for the quarter. That was an increase of 13.8% from the same period of last year. Total revenue for the quarter climbed 22.6% to $14.88 billion, in line with the company’s previous estimates. For the fourth quarter, TSM is expecting revenue of $15.4 billion to $15.7 billion. In particular, the company expects to see strong demand for its industry-leading 5 nanometer technology.
By and large, this is not all that surprising. This is especially true given the skyrocketing demand for TSM’s core offerings amidst the global semiconductor chip shortage. Like it or not, most of the tech we interact and connect with are heavily reliant on chipmakers like TSM. This includes but is not limited to the latest cars, smartphones, and all manner of home electronics. Not to mention, TSM’s ongoing plans to invest $100 billion in expanding its manufacturing capacities through 2024 could, in theory, help maintain its current momentum moving forward.
[Read More] 4 Artificial Intelligence Stocks To Watch Right Now
Banks Among Other Notable Companies Reporting Earnings Today
Last but not least, there are plenty of top names reporting their latest fiscal quarter earnings today. For starters, before today’s opening bell more bank industry giants will be hosting their earnings calls. This includes Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), Morgan Stanley, Citigroup (NYSE: C), and US Bancorp (NYSE: USB). Additionally, the health care and tech industries could also be in focus today. This would be the case as Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ: WBA) and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), are reporting as well.
Alternatively, the likes of Alcoa (NYSE: AA), Duck Creek (NASDAQ: DCT), Del Taco (NASDAQ: TACO), and Washington Federal (NASDAQ: WAFD) are on tap in the post-market hours. All in all, the stock market today seems to be as active as ever.
