Stock Market Today Mid-Morning Updates
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up by 120 points after almost an entire week of sell-offs. Notably, the Dow sank below 30,000 for the first time yesterday since January 2021. Markets have had a relief rally on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced its largest rate hike since 1994, but those gains were reversed very quickly on Thursday. The Fed has also said that it is acutely focused on returning inflation to 2%.
Shares of Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) are in focus today after receiving U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for their coronavirus shots for children as young as 6 months old. This would make nearly every person in the U.S. now eligible for vaccination. This comes after its committee of independent vaccine experts had voted unanimously to recommend the shots after weighing in on the safety and effectiveness of both vaccines. Shares of Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) are down today after issuing weaker-than-expected financial guidance for the current quarter and full year.
Among the Dow Jones leaders, shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) are up by 1.28% today while Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is also down by 0.90%. Meanwhile, Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Nike (NYSE: NKE) are trading higher on Friday. Among the Dow financial leaders, Visa (NYSE: V) is down by 0.69% while JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) is up by 0.27%
Shares of EV leader Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) are up by 2.52% on Friday. Rival EV companies like Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) are down by 0.57%. Lucid Group (NASDAQ: LCID) is up by 3.99% today. Chinese EV leaders like Nio (NYSE: NIO) and Xpeng Motors (NYSE: XPEV) are trading higher as well today.
Dow Jones Today: U.S. Treasury Yields Retreats From Highest Point In a Decade; Ukraine Moves Closer To Joining The EU
Following the stock market opening on Friday, the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq are trading higher at 0.56%, 0.19%, and 1.22% respectively. Among exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) is up by 1.00% while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: SPY) is also up by 0.55%.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield retreated to 3.2% after reaching highs that have not been seen since 2011. Investors are more concerned now that the Fed has fallen behind in its policy to bring down red-hot inflation. In fact, it could bring the economy into a recession with its current rate hike plans.
The European Commission has proposed that Ukraine become a membership candidate to join the bloc. This would normally be the first step in a long road to EU membership. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Ukraine should be welcomed to Europe. This also comes as some of the most powerful EU leaders have traveled to Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv in a show of solidarity with the embattled country.
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Alibaba Stock Gains Following Reports Of China’s Central Bank Greenlighting Ant Group Financial Holding Application
Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) appears to be making a splash at the opening bell today. Evidently, BABA stock is currently gaining by over 2% now. On the whole, the company likely has a regulatory nod from China’s central bank to thank for this news. Going into the details, Alibaba’s Ant Group financial arm is receiving the approval of the Chinese central bank for its application to establish a financial holding company. This information is courtesy of sources from a Reuters report.
For one thing, Ant Group has been and still is working with Chinese financial regulators to attain its license. Notably, this would be a significant change in tone compared to November 2020. That was when Chinese regulators essentially shut down Ant’s $37 billion IPO following issues with founder Jack Ma.
Overall, this approval from the People’s Bank of China would further indicate that China is easing its regulatory crackdown on tech firms. Following this latest update, Alibaba alongside its peers such as JD.com (NASDAQ: JD) and Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) would stand to gain. As such, it would not surprise me to see tech investors tuning in to this section of the stock market today.
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Roku And Walmart Partner Up On One-Of-A-Kind Streaming Platform E-Commerce Ad Experience
Shares of video streaming firm Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) are coming into focus in the stock market today as well. For the most part, this is likely thanks to the announcement of its latest partnership with Walmart (NYSE: WMT). Namely, the duo are now collaborating on a first-of-its-kind digital advertising solution. This solution essentially allows Roku viewers to instantly purchase Walmart items via ads that are on the platform. In detail, Roku accomplishes this via OneView, its ad-buying platform for TV streaming. The company explains that this new marketing method “evolves shopping beyond the QR code and will change the way customers interact and shop TV and video content.”
In the larger scheme of things, the use of OneView to market items in an almost instantly accessible way would be a strategic play by Roku. Through its seamless checkout experience, this would be the case. Explaining the key logic behind this team-up is Walmart’s Chief Marketing Officer, William White. He states, “We’re working to connect with customers where they are already spending time, shortening the distance from discovery and inspiration to purchase.” Adding to that, White says, “No one has cracked the code around video shopability. By working with Roku, we’re the first to market retailer to bring customers a new shoppable experience and seamless checkout on the largest screen in their homes – their TV.”
All in all, the use of OneView in this innovative way would put focus on Roku amidst its advertising rivals. As more organizations look for better ways to market to consumers digitally, this could be a win for Roku.
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