Pfizer And Biontech Covid Vaccine Candidate Approved

Published on

Commenting on Pfizer and Biontech Covid vaccine candidate being approved in the U.K. and today’s trading Gorilla Trades strategist Ken Berman said:

Get The Full Ray Dalio Series in PDF

Get the entire 10-part series on Ray Dalio in PDF. Save it to your desktop, read it on your tablet, or email to your colleagues

Q3 2020 hedge fund letters, conferences and more

Following a very active morning session stock traded sideways throughout the afternoon, with only a few sectors registering heavy activity. Today’s session was another confirmation of the bullish regime shift in volatility, as, despite the overnight selloff in global risk assets, the Volatility Index (VIX) finished unchanged, and that could be foreshadowing a much calmer period for investors.”

Pfizer And BioNtech Covid Vaccine Candidate Approved

The Pfizer (PFE, +3.2%)/BioNtech (+5.9%) vaccine candidate has been approved in the U.K. ahead of the FDA’s expected green light Consumer-related stocks remained relatively weak throughout the session as investors got spooked by the weak job market data. Cyclical issues were mixed even in the wake of the late-day rally, which lifted the hardest-hit industries thanks to the stimulus hopes. Salesforce (CRM, -8.9%) weighed heavily on the tech sector as investors continued to “price in” the firm’s acquisition of Slack (WORK, -2.5%) and the fact that “stay-at-home” stocks lagged the broader market means that the vaccine rally is still intact.

According to the first estimates, online spending on Black Friday soared by over 21% compared to last year’s total, topping $9 billion and getting close to the daily record of last year’s Cyber Monday. Despite the positive online trends, retailers got under pressure this week, as foot traffic fell by more than 50% on a year-on-year basis, and total sales were likely down as well. This year’s Cyber Monday sales could top $10 billion for the first time ever, but given the deteriorating job market indicators, the sector could still be in for a rough winter.

The Vaccine-Distribution Programs

The logistics of the vaccine-distribution programs and the efficiency of those operations will likely take center stage in the coming months, and, so far, the trials and the approval processes seem to be quicker than most experts predicted. Today’s emergency approval of the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine candidate in the U.K. is another step in the right direction, but the FDA is yet to give the green light for the two companies. In the meantime, the CDC has been busy laying down the rules of prioritization, so, given the approval, the vaccine could be distributed to the most important people in only a few weeks.

The job market will remain at the center of attention tomorrow, in terms of economic releases, but the ISM services PMI will also be closely watched. Monday’s manufacturing PMI confirmed that the recovery is on track in the sector, but services represent a much bigger portion of the economy, and the sector is more prone to disruption due to the lockdowns. Even though the number of new jobless claims increased two weeks in a row, analysts expect a slight drop this time around, while continuing claims are forecast to drop below 6 million, which is still very high compared to the measure’s pre-pandemic levels. Stay tuned!

Headlines

  • The major indices finished flat after recovering from an overnight selloff with the energy sector leading the way higher yet again
  • The OPEC got closer to a deal concerning the cartel’s supply cuts, triggering a rebound in the price of oil
  • The $900 billion bipartisan stimulus proposal could be the foundation of according to today’s negotiations
  • The ADP payrolls number missed expectations by a wide margin ahead of Friday’s government jobs report

Market Wrap

Index G/L Current level Year-to- date 50-day 200-day
Dow 60 29,884 4.6% 28,437 26,214
Nasdaq -6 12,349 37.6% 11,555 10,094
S&P 500 7 3,669 13.5% 3,467 3,156
Russell 2000 2 1,838 10.1% 1,646 1,458

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a less than 6-to-5 ratio on the NYSE today, with 2 stocks hitting new 52-week highs and 45 stocks hitting new 52-week lows, while volume was slightly below average.

Price Action Gauge ******** (reading for 12/02: 77)

Today’s intraday rally made bulls smile following yesterday’s worrisome deterioration, but the global weakness and the relatively weak bullish momentum still warrant caution.

Oversold/Overbought Gauge ******** (reading for 12/02: 25 Color: green)

The most reliable momentum indicators continue to creep higher, deeper into overbought territory, but the measures are still below the "danger zone" despite the historic November rally.