Here are five things you must know for Tuesday, May 4:
1. — Stock Futures Trade Modestly Lower
Stock futures traded lower Tuesday following Monday’s mixed session that saw shares of tech giants come under pressure.
Contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 26 points, S&P 500 futures declined 8 points and futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 51 points.
Stocks finished mixed Monday as Wall Street kicked off the first trading day of May with investors betting on a strong U.S. recovery. The Dow gained 0.7% and the S&P 500 rose 0.27%.
But the Nasdaq ended down 0.48%, led by declines in Tesla (TSLA) – Get Report and Amazon.com (AMZN) – Get Report.
Stocks have been rising as a recovery gathers pace in the U.S. and abroad thanks to vaccination programs that have helped people get back to work and allowed for restrictions to be lifted.
A bevy of solid earnings reports also has lifted investors’ optimism.
According to FactSet, more than 60% of the companies in the S&P 500 have posted results, with the blended S&P 500 earnings growth rate in the first quarter at 45.8%, up from 24.5% at the start of earnings season and the 15.8% expected at the start of the quarter. About 86% of companies have surpassed analysts’ expectations, a record high.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Monday the economic outlook in the U.S. has “clearly brightened” but the recovery has been uneven. The Fed chief said the “economic downturn has not fallen evenly on all Americans and those least able to bear the burden have been the hardest hit.”
2.– Tuesday’s Calendar: CVS, Pfizer and DuPont Earnings
Earnings reports are expected Tuesday CVS Health (CVS) – Get Report, Pfizer (PFE) – Get Report, DuPont (DD) – Get Report, Activision Blizzard (ATVI) – Get Report, Under Armour (UAA) – Get Report, Caesars Entertainment (CZR) – Get Report, Zillow (ZG) – Get Report and T-Mobile US (TMUS) – Get Report.
T-Mobile Earnings Preview: Cramer Says Look for This Chip Shortage Clue
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The U.S. economic calendar Tuesday includes International Trade in Goods and Services for March at 8:30 a.m. ET and Factory Orders for March at 10 a.m.
3. — FDA Set to Clear Pfizer Vaccine for Adolescents
The Food and Drug Administration likely will authorize use of the Pfizer and BioNTech (BNTX) – Get Report coronavirus vaccine in adolescents 12 to 15 years old by early next week, The New York Times reported, citing federal officials familiar with the agency’s plans.
Pfizer announced several weeks ago results from a trial in adolescents that showed its vaccine was extremely effective in that age group.
The FDA clearance, in the form of an amendment to the existing emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine, could come as early as late this week. If it is granted, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel likely will meet the following day to review the clinical trial data and make recommendations for the vaccine’s use in adolescents, according to the Times.
Pfizer and BioNTech said their study, which included 2,260 children between the ages of 12 and 15, showed not only 100% efficacy from the BNT162b2 vaccine, but also a robust antibody response. Pfizer said the data exceeded results from a trial of 16- to 26-year olds.
Stephanie Caccomo, a spokeswoman for the FDA, told the Times she couldn’t comment on the timing of the agency’s decision.
“We can assure the public that we are working to review this request as quickly and transparently as possible,” she said.
4. — Bill and Melinda Gates Are Divorcing
Microsoft (MSFT) – Get Report co-founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda said they were ending their 27-year marriage.
In a statement on Twitter, the billionaire couple said they will continue their work at their philanthropic foundation “but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.”
Bill and Melinda Gates met at Microsoft where she had been a marketing manager. The pair got married in Hawaii in 1994.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation. It oversees $49.8 billion.
Bill Gates, 65 years old, owns 1.37% of Microsoft’s outstanding shares, which are worth more than $26 billion, according to FactSet. He is the fourth-richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $124 billion.
Collectively, Bill and Melinda Gates command an estimated $146 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Bill Gates stepped down last year from Microsoft’s board.
5. — Ethereum Sets Another Record High
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, set another record high Tuesday, eating further into bitcoin’s dominance of the total cryptocurrency market.
Ethereum hit a record high of $3,446 on Tuesday, according to CoinGecko, and its market cap surged to $385.19 billion. Ethereum rose past $3,000 on Monday for the first time and has soared about 1,500% over the past year.
The price of ethereum likely will hit $5,000 over the next seven days, according to Nigel Green, chief executive and founder of deVere Group.
“Ether is one of the main beneficiaries in the wider explosion in the cryptocurrency market. The boom over recent months has been fueled by soaring interest from major institutional investors and growing recognition that borderless digital currencies are the future of money,” Green said.
“This momentum is likely to build further in the near-term and I believe ether will hit $5,000 within seven days,” Green added.
Bitcoin has fallen 5.2% over the past 24 hours to $55,800.
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