Still No Coronavirus Relief, Retail Earnings This Week

Posted on 27th Oct 2020

THE UNCERTAINTY AROUND the government's coronavirus relief is likely to loom among investors and reflect in stock market activity as it did today. Congress is in recess until mid-September and there is still no stimulus deal.

The main focus of this week for investors will be on retail earnings from Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target and Walmart, among many others. The pandemic has proved to be difficult for some big-name retailers who have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but those that have a strong e-commerce presence are expected to fare well.

Stocks leading the tech stock rally today included Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet, which contributed to the Nasdaq edging higher. Tesla also surged more than 11% before the closing bell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.31% to 27,845, the S&P 500 gained 0.27% to 3,382, and the Nasdaq ended in the green increasing 1% to 11,130, hitting record highs.

Nvidia (NVDA): Ahead of the computer company’s quarterly results scheduled for this week, analysts increased Nvidia’s price targets, resulting in NVDA jumping over 6% on Monday. Nvidia, among other stocks, helped boost the Nasdaq and S&P 500.

Escalating tensions with China: U.S.-China relations were top of mind leading into the market open on Monday as phase one review of the U.S.- China trade deal that was supposed to take place this weekend has been stalled. Also, following President Trump’s executive order to ban TikTok, the countdown for the social media company’s fate has given rise to other Chinese companies’ future that have extended business operations in the U.S., like Alibaba.

August has historically been a slow month and with the added layer of pandemic woes and political strife, volatility may persist.

By: Paulina Likos