Stocks are tentatively higher at midday as investors await news on the outcome of the two Senate runoff elections occurring today in Georgia, which will determine control of the Senate. Amid the remaining political uncertainty, the continued surge in virus cases and the resulting tightening of restrictions is also weighing on sentiment after the UK announced yesterday that it has enacted its third nationwide lockdown since the pandemic began.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the ISM manufacturing index climbed 3.2 points to a two-year high of 60.7 in December, which was stronger than forecast.
WTI oil futures rose to a 10-month high of $50.02 before slipping back below that round number level after the Saudi-led Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and a Russian-led contingent, collectively dubbed "OPEC+," were said to agree to a compromise to leave production levels unchanged in February before planning to increase output in March.
TOP NEWS: Shares of Qualcomm (QCOM) are 2% higher near noon after the company announced that its board of directors has unanimously selected Cristiano Amon, currently the President of the company, to succeed Steve Mollenkopf as CEO, effective June 30. "With our business model clearly validated and our leadership in 5G, this is the right time for Cristiano to assume leadership of the company and preside over what I see as the single largest opportunity in the company's history," Mollenkopf said.
In an unexpected reversal, the New York Stock Exchanged announced that "in light of further consultation with relevant regulatory authorities," NYSE Regulation has announced that it no longer intends to move forward with the delisting action that was announced on December 31, 2020 for China Telecom (CHA), China Mobile (CHL) and China Unicom (CHU).
IBM (IBM) announced the appointment of Gary Cohn as Vice Chairman of IBM and member of the IBM Executive Leadership Team. Cohn served as Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council from January 2017 until April 2018, prior to which he was President and COO of The Goldman Sachs Group (GS) from 2006-2016.
In COVID-19 news, the FDA sent an alert "to remind the public about the importance of receiving COVID-19 vaccines according to how they've been authorized by the FDA in order to safely receive the level of protection observed in the large randomized trials supporting their effectiveness." Commenting on the COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna (MRNA) and the team of Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) that have been approved for use in the U.S., the agency said: "We have been following the discussions and news reports about reducing the number of doses, extending the length of time between doses, changing the dose (half-dose), or mixing and matching vaccines in order to immunize more people against COVID-19. These are all reasonable questions to consider and evaluate in clinical trials. However, at this time, suggesting changes to the FDA-authorized dosing or schedules of these vaccines is premature and not rooted solidly in the available evidence."
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Atomera (ATOM), which surged 41% after it entered into a joint development agreement with a semiconductor provider for integration of Atomera's Mears Silicon Technology, or MST, into their silicon fabrication process. Also higher was Boston Private Financial (BPFH), which gained 31% after SVB Financial Group (SIVB) and the company announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which SVB will acquire Boston Private.
Among the notable losers was Mersana Therapeutics (MRSN), which declined 33% after the company hosted a virtual analyst and investor meeting during which it announced its 2021 goals and anticipated milestones. Also lower was 8x8 (EGHT), which fell 2% after Wells Fargo analyst Michael Turrin downgraded shares to Underweight from Equal Weight.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 83.66, or 0.28%, to 30,307.55, the Nasdaq was up 58.92, or 0.46%, to 12,757.37, and the S&P 500 was up 12.58, or 0.34%, to 3,713.23.
Qualcomm
+3.33 (+2.24%)
China Telecom
+2.41 (+9.24%)
China Mobile
+2.78 (+10.35%)
China Unicom
+0.76 (+13.82%)
IBM
+0.92 (+0.74%)
Goldman Sachs
+5.1 (+1.92%)
Pfizer
+0.16 (+0.43%)
BioNTech
+0.05 (+0.06%)
Moderna
-3.55 (-3.18%)
Atomera
+6.55 (+41.07%)
Boston Private Financial
+2.515 (+29.90%)
SVB Financial
-4.61 (-1.19%)
Mersana Therapeutics
-8.51 (-32.10%)
8x8
-0.79 (-2.34%)