The US stock market closed Monday’s session higher with the Nasdaq 100 hitting a new all-time record high as the number of coronavirus cases reported worldwide surpassing 100 million.
Investors are also keenly awaiting the earnings reports from a number of companies including the largest tech firms such as Facebook, Apple and Tesla as well as leading financial institutions.
Meanwhile, the new President Joe Biden said he hasn’t decided on whether to retain the current tariffs on Chinese goods though he noted that he is “committed to stopping China’s economic abuses.” according to Whitehouse spokesperson.
China’s President Xi Speech at Davos
The world “will not go back to what it was” pre the pandemic, China’s President Xi Jinping said on Monday while speaking at The Davos Agenda 2021 online event organized by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The Chinese president said that countries should “step up macroeconomic cooperation” and “look at current policies” amid “shaky” global economic recovery and an uncertain outlook.
The world should “abandon ideological prejudice” as there’s “no civilization without diversity,” while also closing “the divide between developed and undeveloped countries,” the Chinese head of state stressed. The countries all around the globe should “come together against joint challenges,” he also suggested.
Gamestop Stock Price
Shares of electronic equipment retailer GameStop continued to surge on Monday increasing their value by more than 140% at one point and finished the day 18% higher. Trading was halted severally by the New York Stock Exchange to limit the volatility.
GameStop stock has gained by over 289% over the last one month alone, while its up by 480% over the last three months. The surge has been driven by increased investors’ interest on Twitter and Reddit as hedge funds rush to cover their short bets against the company’s stock.
Blackberry shares hit 8-year-high
Shares of BlackBerry Ltd. rose by over 29% on Monday to hit 8-year-high.
The Canada-based cybersecurity software company’s issued a statement saying it is “not aware of any material, undisclosed corporate developments and has no material change in its business or affairs that has not been publicly disclosed that would account for the recent increase in the market price or trading volume of its common shares.”
However, according to Bloomberg, the rally has been driven by the profane, meme-loving traders on Reddit.
Additionally, investors are optimistic about the company recently signed a deal with Amazon Web Services regarding a project on an intra-cloud software program for vehicles.
The company’s stock is up by more than 46% in the last one week and up over 150% in the last one month. In the last three months, the stock is up by more than 255%.
Tesla
Tesla is planning the mass production of its new type of batteries in Germany. Media reports indicate that the batteries, that were unveiled at the company’s Battery Day last year, will be manufactured at a Tesla site in Gruenhilde, near the carmaker’s upcoming Gigafactory.
The new cells will be six times more powerful, will give cars five times more energy capacity and will improve the range of its electric vehicles by 16%.
Tesla Stock closed closed 4.18% higher on Monday’s session.
Apple engineering head to step down
Ahead of its fourth-quarter results this week, Apple Inc. announced that its hardware engineering lead Dan Riccio will be replaced by John Ternus as the head of the department.
Riccio, who has been “a leader in designing, developing, and engineering almost all of Apple’s products” since the first iMac, scaled the company’s “ability to innovate across multiple new product lines with the highest quality.”
“After 23 years of leading our Product Design or Hardware Engineering teams – culminating with our biggest and most ambitious product year ever – it’s the right time for a change,” Riccio said.
Dan Riccio will transition to a new role focusing on a new project and reporting to CEO Tim Cook.
Masayoshi Son steps down as Softbank board chairman
Softbank on Tuesday announced that its founder Masayoshi Son will stepdown from the position of board chairman and will however continue to serve as a board director.
The company’s CTO Junichi Miyakawa has been promoted to the position of president and CEO while the current CEO, Ken Miyauchi, will become the company’s chairman.
Janet Yellen confirmed as US Treasury secretary
Janet Yellen, Biden’s nominee for the position of the secretary of the Department of the Treasury was on Monday confirmed by the US Senate with 84 votes in favour and 15 against.
Yellen will be responsible to fight the economic repercussions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and global shutdowns. The 74-year-old American economist is the first woman in US history to hold the post of Treasury secretary in its 232-year history.
Previously, Yellen served as the 15th chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018.
Moderna Stock
Shares of American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Moderna Inc. closed 12.20% on Monday following news that the company’s Coronavirus vaccine gives protection against the newly detected strains originating from South Africa and the United Kingdom.
In a statement, Moderna announced said it will start trials for an altered version of its vaccine aimed specifically at creating immunity against the South African coronavirus variant.
The company’s stock is almost 19% since the start of the year and up 109% in three months.
Norvatis Q4 Earnings
Novartis reported its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2020 with net sales rising 3% to $12.77 billion while net income was up 86% to $2.1 billion.
Operating income rose 45% to $2.6 billion.
For full-year 2020, the company’s net sales were up 3% to $48.66 billion and net income climbed 13% to $8.07 billion.
