Dow dropped 344 (near session low), decliners ahead of advancers 4-3 & NAZ dropped 97. The MLP index gained 1+ to the 133s & the REIT index was off 5+ to the 371s. Junk bond funds continued in demand & Treasuries were slightly higher. Oil advanced to 42 & gold fell 12 to 1872 (more on both below).
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.2180338269244485)
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first COVID-19 self-testing kit for home use that provides results within 30 minutes. The single-use test, made by Lucira Health, has been given emergency use authorization for home use with self-collected nasal swab samples in individuals aged 14 & older who are suspected of COVID-19 by their health care provider, the FDA said. “While COVID-19 diagnostic tests have been authorized for at-home collection, this is the first that can be fully self-administered and provide results at home,” FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said. The kit can also be used at hospitals & point-of-care settings but samples should be collected by a healthcare provider if the individuals who are tested are younger than 14 years, the health regulator added. Although a recent string of positive news from Moderna (MRNA) & Pfizer (PFE) on their potential vaccines has raised hopes in combating the disease, testing still is a key factor in controlling the spread of the virus. “We look forward to proactively working with test developers to support the availability of more at-home test options,” said Jeff Shuren, the director of the FDA's Center for Devices & Radiological Health. The US crossed 11M total infections.
FDA approves first COVID-19 test kit for home use
Target (TGT), a Dividend Aristocrat, reported thriving digital sales & same-day services growth helped fuel a 46% year-over-year spike in Q3 profit. The
discount retailer had
adjusted EPS of $2.79, as revenue rose 21% to $22.3B. The forecast called for adjusted EPS
of $1.60 on revenue of $20.9B. Digital comparable sales soared 155% from a year ago, accounting for
10.9 percentage points of the 20.7% comparable sales growth. Same-day
services, which include order pick up, drive up, & Shipt, grew 217%. “Our
strong results in 2020 reflect the benefits of our multi-year effort to
build a durable and flexible model, with a differentiated assortment
and a suite of industry-leading fulfillment options,” CEO Brian
Cornell said. Sales
increased across all categories with electronics growing more than 50%,
home up in the mid-20% range & apparel increasing by almost 10%. The
average ticket rose 15.6% from a year ago. Overall, the company said it
won $6B of market share. The company raised its quarterly div by 2¢ to 66¢ per
share & reinstated its share repurchase program, which has $4.5B of remaining capacity. The stock shot up 3.84 (2%).
If you would like to learn more about TGT, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/TGT?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Target blows past expectations as digital sales, same-day services boom
Gold futures declined, with the latest update on coronavirus treatments & prophylactics. prompting the haven metal to suffer from the first consecutive session loss since late Oct. Dec gold declined $11 (0.6%) to settle at $1873 an ounce, a day after marginal decline yesterday which marked the first back-to-back loss for gold since the 2-day slide ended Oct 29,. The loss for gold also came on the back of gains in most global stock markets & an earlier climb in some US benchmark stock indices. Bullish investors still believe that gold's longer-term pathway is higher, buttressed by expected stimulus from central banks & fiscal measures by govs to avert a COVID-19 public-health disaster. Successful vaccines & remedies for the infection may not reach wide-scale distribution for several months & Ms of people are still suffering from the economic effects of social-distancing & lockdown measures that have been reimposed in parts of the US & in other parts of the world.
Gold prices suffer first back-to-back loss in 3 weeks
Oil prices rose sharply with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for Dec up 39¢ (0.9%) to settle at $41.82 a barrel, though off the day's high was $42.46. Jan Brent crude, the global benchmark, added 59¢ (1.4%) to $44.34 a barrel. Both WTI & Brent crude prices, based on the front-month contracts, registered their highest settlements since early Sep. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that US crude inventories rose by 800K barrels last week. That was bigger than the 100K-barrel climb forecast, but the American Petroleum Institute reported yesterday a much larger 4.2M-barrel increase. The EIA data also showed crude stocks at the Cushing, Okla., storage hub edged up by 1.2M barrels for the week.
Oil prices tally highest finish since early September on latest vaccine prospects
A key top Fed official said he is more optimistic about the longer-run US economic outlook than he was only 2 months ago. In a talk, New York Fed Pres John Williams was asked about a prediction he made in Sep that it would take the economy 3 years to regain its strength. “I would say that my view…if anything, has become somewhat more upbeat,” Williams answered. One positive development he noted was that the economic rebound has been stronger than expected after virtually shutting down in Mar & Apr. In addition, Americans seem to have gotten a lot better at managing “the narrow path” of grappling with COVID-19 while keeping the economy moving ahead, he added. The news about potential vaccines is a 3rd factor, the New York Fed pres said. Fed officials have forescast that interest rates won’t move off of zero thru 2023. Williams said the Fed won't change its monetary policy stance based on any forecast. The Fed's new policy strategy, adopted in Sep, pledges to react to “what is actually happening in the economy,” he continued. To help the economy in the short term, Williams echoed Fed Chair Jerome Powell's call for Congress to pass another coronavirus stimulus package. Without Congressional action, “the economy will be more challenged,” Williams said.
Fed’s Williams more optimistic for economy owed partly to vaccine progress
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