Stock Futures Edging Down Ahead Of Fresh Data On Consumer Sentiment
Stock futures were under pressure yet again on Friday morning as investors evaluated the resilience of global economic recovery. From the prospect of Fed tapering to the debt crisis at China Evergrande Group, investors remain cautious on the direction of the stock market. Stocks have been trading sideways this week as investors grappled with mixed economic data in the U.S. and China.
“The economy is widely thought to be slowing under the weight of the Delta variant. Combined with a bad historic September stock market seasonality and ongoing fears of inflation, has caused investors to recently turn cautious,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist for Leuthold Group. “With economic growth unexpectedly reviving again, investors are questioning whether they have been too cautious keeping a bid under the overall stock market.”
Considering all these, there is also one thing to note in the stock market today. The final third of September historically had the least impressive performance of the month. In light of that, today also coincides with the expiration for stock options, index options, stock futures, and index futures. This is a quarterly event known as “quadruple witching”, which can cause high volatility in the market. As of 7:08 a.m. ET, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures are down by 0.19%, 0.24%, and 0.24% respectively.
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Lucid Motors (LCID) Stock Rebounds On Bank Of America’s Bullish Stance
Lucid Motors (NASDAQ: LCID) stock rallied on Thursday and is showing no signs of slowing judging from the pre-market trading this morning. This came after a bullish note and confirmation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the EV maker’s premium car has a higher mile range than Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model S. Oftentimes, EPA rating day is usually a disappointing experience for automakers as the official numbers usually fall short of the companies’ projections. That, my friend, didn’t happen for Lucid Motors.
Lucid’s Dream Air edition received an EPA-rated range of 520 miles. That’s about 100 miles more than Tesla’s Model S Long Range. Also on Thursday, LCID stock received a bullish outlook from Bank of America analyst John Murphy. He set a $30 price target on the stock. In his own words, Murphy said, “I think it’s somewhat somewhere between a combination of Tesla and Ferrari.”
There’s a lot to like when it comes to Lucid Motors. I don’t blame investors for getting all excited with Lucid Motors. They’ve got the combination of some real good know-how engineers like Peter Rawlinson and great technology. What’s more, the company aims to offer the fastest EV charging in the space through Lucid Air. Considering all these, will you be watching LCID stock in the stock market today?
AbCellera Biologics (ABCL) Stock Skyrocketing On EUA News
Many investors are turning their attention to AbCellera Biologics (NASDAQ: ABCL) stock today. This came after the U.S. FDA has expanded the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) administered with etesevimab (LY-CoV016) to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection or symptomatic COVID-19. The expanded EUA is based on data from the Phase 3 BLAZE-2 trial that showed bamlanivimab prevented COVID-19 in nursing homes. In detail, it reduces the risk of contracting the disease by up to 80% in nursing home residents and up to 57% among residents and staff of long-term care facilities.
“More than 535,000 patients have been treated with bamlanivimab alone or together with etesevimab, potentially keeping more than 25,000 patients out of the hospital and saving more than 10,000 lives. With this expanded authorization, these antibodies, which have been shown to be effective against the highly contagious Delta variant, can now be used to protect some of the most at-risk people exposed to the virus.”- Carl Hansen, Ph.D., CEO and President of AbCellera.
On Wednesday, the company also announced a partnership with Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) to create as many as six new drugs. The collaboration will utilize AbCellera’s AI-powered antibody identification platform. Specifically, the duo hopes to advance the effectiveness of mRNA-encoded antibody therapeutics. This is certainly good news for AbCellera, as it will receive up-front payments for accessing its intellectual property. Now, with ABCL stock still trading below where it was earlier this year, would prospective investors take a closer look?
[Read More] Top Stocks To Buy Now? 4 Renewable Energy Stocks For Your Watchlist
Clean Energy Stocks Are Gaining Traction Amid The Green Transition
While global governments have been debating on how to achieve a more sustainable future, Wall Street has another focus. That is, paying attention to clean energy stocks that are combating the climate change crisis. As you may know, the Senate approved a $1.2 trillion package to help build clean energy infrastructure stateside. And if you have read the recent press release from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), you might agree that some exposure in clean energy stocks may be a profitable endeavor.
“The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse‑gas emissions from fossil-fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk,” stated UN Secretary-General António Guterres, giving a “code red for humanity” during the IPCC.
For investors, the new infrastructure bill means the companies in the renewable energy field could benefit. From electric vehicle charging company, ChargePoint (NYSE: CHPT) to renewable energy infrastructure company, MasTec (NYSE: MTZ), these companies have huge tailwinds behind them. Keep in mind that many countries have already pledged to be carbon neutral under the Paris Agreement. Thus, it won’t be surprising if these clean energy stocks become multi-baggers in the coming few years.
[Read More] Best Lithium Battery Stocks To Buy Now? 4 To Know
AMC Entertainment (AMC) To Accept Ethereum & Litecoin By 2022
Crypto enthusiasts will likely know that AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) has announced earlier that it will accept Bitcoin by the end of this year. Now, the company has also announced that it will begin accepting Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash as well. By accepting cryptocurrencies, the movie chain hopes to give tech enthusiasts an additional payment option when visiting the cinema.
AMC is one of the first in the entertainment industry to accept cryptocurrency payments. Therefore, many may be wondering which other companies would be the next to accept cryptocurrencies. Despite the environmental concerns posed by mining these digital currencies, many big corporations continue to jump on the crypto bandwagon.
While these are all positive to the crypto community, mass adoption is still far from guaranteed. We only have to look at El Salvador which recently legalized bitcoin. The government’s digital bitcoin wallet has reportedly faced numerous technical glitches. It remains to be seen if these issues can be resolved in due course.
