Here are the top news, trends, and analysis investors need to get their trading day started:
1. Dow to rise after Covid restrictions fears wipe Monday’s gains
Traders work on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
NYSE
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was expected to open about 200 points higher on Tuesday, the day after stocks had given up gains and closed lower. Fears of new measures to reduce Covid-19 offset optimism about the launch of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. Despite falling 184 points on Monday, the Dow was still below 1.2% from its all-time high on December 4th.
The sluggish talks over new economic incentives in Covid didn’t inspire Wall Street on Monday when a group of bipartisan lawmakers split their $ 908 billion bailout into two bills in hopes of getting something through the GOP before the GOP the GOP controlled Senate and the democratically held house get year-end.
The Federal Reserve, which led Capitol Hill and the White House to agree on further relief, begins its final two-day 2020 political session on Tuesday. Interest rates are not expected to change near zero on Wednesday afternoon, but one extended bond buying could be on the table. Investors will also be following Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference on signals about the direction of the economy for the next year.
2. Pfizer vaccine expected in more places of distribution
UPS employees move one of two shipping containers containing the first shipments of the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on a ramp at UPS Worldport in Louisville, Kentucky on Sunday, December 13, 2020.
Michael Clevenger | Getty Images
Deliveries of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine are expected to arrive at 400 more hospitals and other distribution locations across the country on Tuesday. While the first U.S. healthcare workers received shots for emergency use approval on Monday, it will be a few months before the average person can get the vaccine.
The FDA has released its analysis of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, stating that it meets expectations for the emergency. The agency’s vaccine advisory body meets on Thursday to ask whether clearance should be recommended. Once approved, government officials plan to send nearly 6 million Moderna shots in addition to the 2.9 million Pfizer cans already in use.
3. The UK government has found a new variant of the coronavirus
Commuters photographed wearing face masks at London Waterloo Station on November 5, 2020.
NIKLAS HALLE’N | AFP | Getty Images
A week after the UK became the first country to fire Pfizer vaccination shots for emergency clearance, the government identified a new variant of coronavirus that may be related to the faster spread of cases in southern parts of the country. On Wednesday, London and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire will enter England’s toughest Covid restrictions.
In New York, Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday, “If we don’t change the trajectory, we might very well come to a standstill … go back to where we are, shut down all non-essential businesses, go to zero.” New York Democratic Mayor Bill De Blasio also warned that another full lockdown may be needed to slow hospital stays.
4. Biden calls for unity and healing, but also slams Trump
President-elect Joe Biden makes a televised address to the nation after the US electoral college officially confirmed its victory over President Donald Trump in the 2020 US presidential election on December 14, 2020 at Biden’s interim headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, USA.
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President-elect Joe Biden called for unity and healing in a deeply divided nation Monday night, hours after voters across the country confirmed his electoral college victory over President Donald Trump. He also slammed Trump on unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud, saying the Supreme Court had “given President Trump a clear signal that they would not be part of an unprecedented attack on democracy.” Other Republicans recognized Biden as the next president. Even Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Biden. “For my part, I am ready for interaction and contact with you,” Putin said in the statement on Tuesday.
5. Barr resigns as Attorney General after clashes with the President
US President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with US Attorney General William Barr (R) during the Public Safety Officer’s Medal of Valor ceremony on May 22, 2019 at the White House in Washington, DC.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
Attorney General William Barr will leave before Christmas as Head of the Justice Department. The highly anticipated announcement came moments after Biden’s victory over Trump was formalized by the electoral college. The twilight shake of Trump’s tenure at the White House also followed weeks of public clashes between Barr and the president. In tweets, Trump implied that despite recent criticism, he had no ill will towards Barr. Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, told CNBC on Monday that he was not surprised Barr “could no longer connect with the process that is ongoing”.
– Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow all developments on Wall Street in real time with CNBC Pro’s live market blog. Find out about the latest pandemics on our coronavirus blog.
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