Markets jump on Pfizer's Covid vaccine

Dow shot up 834 (but a very big 800 below early highs), advancers over decliners about 4-1 & NAZ slid back 181.  The MLP index gained a very big 11 to the 121s & the REIT index advanced 14+ to the 364s.  Junk bond funds were in demand & Treasuries ran into heavy selling.  Oil continued up 3+, to go over 40, & gold tumbled 84 to 1867 while stock were being purchased (more on both below).

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The days of consumers flooding store aisles in hopes of nabbing the greatest Black Friday deals are long gone, a recent survey indicated.  Shopping on the day after Thanksgiving had become a staple for consumers due to the fact that it has been deemed one of the best days of the year to save on big-ticket items.  That is until the coronavirus pandemic upended traditional holiday plans.  This year, only 2.6% of consumers plan to hit the stores this Black Friday while the virus continues to grip the nation, according to a survey by Staples.  It's a stark contrast to years past. In 2019, consumers spent $8694B on in-store purchases, a 2.4% uptick from the year prior.  In fact, 8% of respondents said they hit the stores every year for the last 5 years & 85% have shopped in-store on Black Friday at least once within the last 5 years.  According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), about 124M people shopped in stores over Thanksgiving weekend in 2019 while 75.7M shopped in-store & online.  Black Friday had the busiest day for in-store foot traffic that year, seeing about 84M shoppers, NRF said.   This year, however, more than 25% of consumers say they are definitely not participating in in-store Black Friday shopping due to the pandemic, according to Staples' survey.  Meanwhile, an additional 40% of shoppers say they are less or slightly less likely to participate due to the current environment.  About 17% of shoppers say they won't be convinced to shop in-store no matter how good the sale may be.  However, consumers will still have an appetite for holiday sales, especially during the economic downturn.  To help ease consumer fears, retailers have not only upped safety measures in stores but they have spread out their traditional one-day deals throughout the season in an effort to prevent large crowds from gathering.

Black Friday foot traffic expected to plummet amid pandemic: survey

The US has now reported more than 10M cases of Covid-19, a bleak milestone amid growing outbreaks across the country.  According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, more than 10M cases & 237K deaths have been reported in the US.  That comes as the US sets record one-day spikes in cases, spurring some officials to reinstate restrictions in efforts to contain the coronavirus.  Globally, more than 50.6M people have been infected & 1.25M have died in the global pandemic, according to Hopkins.  The situation is unlikely to improve without targeted measures to reduce transmission in the hardest-hit states, according to Dr Scott Gottlieb, former Food & Drug Administration Commissioner.  “You have to be really worried what January is going to look like, what December is going to look like right now given the way this is rising,” Gottlieb said.

U.S. coronavirus cases cross 10 million as outbreaks spike across the nation

General Motors (GM) plans to hire 3K new employees largely focused on software development for the research, development & deployment of electric vehicles, the automaker announced.  GM said the jobs will be focused on engineering, design & information technology “to increase diversity and inclusion and contribute to GM’s EV and customer experience priorities.”  The hiring is expected thru Q1-2021.  Many of the positions will be remote as GM begins to offer “more remote opportunities than ever before,” the company said.  “As we evolve and grow our software expertise and services, it’s important that we continue to recruit and add diverse talent,” said GM Pres Mark Reuss.  “This will clearly show that we’re committed to further developing the software we need to lead in EVs, enhance the customer experience and become a software expertise-driven workforce.”  The hiring blitz comes as the automaker expects to increase focus on electric vehicles, including offering at least 20 new electric vehicles globally by 2023.  Ken Morris, GM VP of autonomous & electric vehicles programs, said the automaker has pulled forward at least two upcoming electric vehicles following the GMC Hummer EV, which is the first vehicle on GM’s next-generation electric vehicle platform with its proprietary Ultium battery cells.  The stock rose 1.43.
If you would like to learn more about GM, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/GM?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7

General Motors to add 3,000 jobs focused on electric vehicles   

McDonald’s (MCD), a Dow stock & Dividend Aristocrat, reported quarterly earnings that topped ,estimates, helped by promotions that drove US customers to return to its restaurants.  The fast-food giant reported EPS of $2.35, up from $2.11 a year earlier.  Excluding gains from the sale of its shares of MCD's Japan & other items, EPS was $2.22, topping the $1.90 expected.  Net sales dropped 2% to $5.42B, slightly above expectations of $5.42B.  Global same-store sales fell 2.2%, dragged down by slower recovery of its intl markets.  But the US reported same-stores sales growth of 4.6%, fueled by a strong Sep that included its popular promotion with rapper Travis Scott & the launch of its limited-time spicy McNuggets.  The company will increase its quarterly cash div by 3% to $1.29.  MCD reiterated that it's expecting to spend $1.6B on capital expenditures this year but added more detail on those investments in a regulatory filing.  About $850M will go to its US business, with ½ of that money being spent to upgrade about 900 restaurants.  The company is forecasting about 950 new restaurant openings.  About 270 of those new locations will be in the US & Intl Operated Markets, which includes France & the UK.  China is expected to add about 400 new locations this year..  The stock fell 3.38.
If you would like to learn more about MCD, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/MCD?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7  

McDonald’s earnings top estimates, fueled by U.S. sales recovery

Gold futures suffered their steepest daily drop in more than 7 years, as a positive report on a vaccine candidate sent the $ & gov bond yields higher, pressuring bullion.  Pfizer (PFE) & BioNTech said their COVID-19 vaccine candidate was 90% effective at preventing COVID-19, derived from the novel strain of coronavirus.  Dec gold declined $97 (5%) to settle at $1854 an ounce, after gold logged its biggest weekly gain in 3 months on Fri.  The metal marked the sharpest daily percentage drop for a most-active contract since 2013.  The tumble in safe-haven metals come as the 10-year Treasury note yield was at 0.95% dealings, compared with 0.82% on Fri . Meanwhile, the $ rose 0.7%.  US benchmark stock indices were sharply higher.  The risk-on sentiment contributed further to gold's decline.

Gold prices book biggest daily drop in over 7 years 

Oil futures rallied, lifting US prices by more than 8% as news of a promising COVID-19 vaccine helped ease worries about a slowdown in energy demand tied to rising cases of the virus.  Dec West Texas Intermediate crude rose $3.15 (8.5%) to settle at $40.29 a barrel, the largest daily percentage gain for a front-month contract since mid-May & highest settlement since Oct 22, 

U.S. oil futures gain more than 8% on news of promising COVID-19 vaccine

This was a spectacular day for the stock market, although all was not well.  Tech stocks did not share in the advance, accounting for the decline at NAZ.  In the AM, the Dow reached just under 30K for a new record, but the advanced was trimmed by significant selling in the PM.  Over the short term, the virus keeps fighting back which should bring choppy markets.

Dow Jones Industrials