Back to the Future?

Tale of the Tape

Good evening, everyone. We officially have a new President of the United States, and every major index closed at a new all-time high! 📈 🙌 

The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, Russell 2000, and Dow Jones all also closed at all-time highs on Inauguration Day, 1997. Are we going back to the future?? Time will tell..

Communications was the strongest sector. $XLC cruised 3% and closed at an all-time high. Real estate, tech, and consumer discretionary all gained ~2%. Financials was only the negative sector… maybe the banks need a break? 🤔

Bitcoin and Ethereum were quiet. Maybe a little too quiet? Are the cryptos getting ready to crack? Place your bets… 

Emerging markets finally EMERGED!! $EEM closed at a new all-time high for the first time since October 2007. Here’s the monstrous monthly chart:

Big cap tech bounced back in a big way, as the FAANG gang flew to new heights. The NYSE FANG+ Index closed at a new all-time high. See more below. 

Jack Ma made his first appearance in what feels like an eternity. $BABA bounced back 5.5%.

Here are the closing prints: 

S&P 5003,798+1.39%
Nasdaq13,197+1.97%
Russell 20002,151+0.44%
Dow Jones30,930+0.83%

The FAANG Gang

Big cap tech is back after a quiet start to 2021. The 5 tech giants blasted higher— they can thank Netflix’s killer quarter for the boost. 😉

Netflix closed at new highs after reporting strong Q4 earnings yesterday. $NFLX opened a few bucks below former highs, but quickly broke out to blue skies, gaining 16.85%. 

Here’s the daily chart:

Google galloped 5.36% to close at an all-time high. $GOOG will report earnings on February 2 AMC.

Apple advanced 3.3%. The company will report earnings January 27 AMC.

Here’s the daily chart:

Facebook, the weakest of the bunch, flew for the third straight day. 

Here’s the daily chart:

$FB is set to report earnings on Jan 27 AMC.

Amazon ascended 4.57%. It’s now up 0.20% YTD. $AMZN will report earnings on February 2 AMC. 

Here’s the daily chart:

China Sanctions US Officials

China just sanctioned several US officials from the Trump Administration who “violated Chinese sovereignty and were responsible for the US’ China-related moves.” 

28 total US officials were included in China’s sanctions, including Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, and former trade adviser Peter Navarro. Sanctioned individuals are prohibited from entering China and are barred from Chinese business. 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented: 

Over the past few years, some anti-China politicians in the United States, out of their selfish political interests and prejudice and hatred against China and showing no regard for the interests of the Chinese and American people, have planned, promoted and executed a series of crazy moves which have gravely interfered in China’s internal affairs, undermined China’s interests, offended the Chinese people, and seriously disrupted China-U.S. relations.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying called Mike Pompeo “a laughing stock and a clown” for his accusations of China’s genocide against Uighur Muslims. While Chinese officials embrace renewed US relations under Biden’s Administration, current Secretary of State Anthony Blinkin shares Pompeo’s views.

Guess Who’s Back…

…back again, Ma is back, tell a friend.

Do you remember that childhood feeling of relief when you found your mom after getting lost in the grocery store? That’s how $BABA investors felt this morning— Jack Ma made his first appearance since the Chinese government halted Ant Group’s IPO on October 24th.

The billionaire appeared at an online philanthropic event for rural teachers. He even seemed “relaxed,” according to sources at the event.

$BABA bounced back 5.5%. Here’s the daily chart:

Slow Vaccine Distribution Adds to Olympics Woes

Things aren’t looking great for Tokyo’s 2021 Olympics as slow vaccine distribution and spiking Covid cases worldwide pose major obstacles to the Games. 

Last March, Japan postponed its 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

But now, there still isn’t a universal vaccination plan in place— USOPC Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Finnoff said this about an official Olympics vaccination schedule: 

I have communicated with numerous hospital systems, state government officials, and am even working to discuss with federal officials and the companies themselves how this process is working, and how we might facilitate vaccination of the athletes when it’s time during that tiering process. And while we’re working very hard on it, there aren’t any definite plans in place yet. 

Japanese infection rates in particular have been soaring recently, with almost a third of Japan refusing vaccines. This might not be a problem soon in the US, though, as Amazon just offered its help to President Biden with vaccine distribution. 💉

Will we have our Olympic Games this year? Only time will tell. 🙏⏳

Earnings Roundup

Morgan Stanley reported stellar earnings and revenue numbers before the bell. Profits rose 51% to $3.39B. 

Here are the stats

EPS: $1.92 vs $1.27 est.
Revenue: $13.64B, +25% YoY

CEO James Gorman said:

The firm produced a very strong quarter and record full-year results, with excellent performance across all three businesses and geographies. 

$MS traded down just 0.20%.

United Airlines reported another quarterly loss and warned of more difficulty to come in early 2021. 

Here are the numbers:

EPS: ($7.00) vs ($6.60) est.
Revenue: $3.41B, -69% YoY

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said:

Aggressively managing the challenges of 2020 depended on our innovation and fast-paced decision making. But, the truth is that COVID-19 has changed United Airlines forever.

$UAL fell 2% after hours.

Earnings This Week

Be sure to know when your stocks report earnings. Here’s the earnings calendar

Links That Don’t Suck

*📈 Here’s a better way to buy IPO stocks using chart patterns (and why buying on day one is for rookies).

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