Here is a Market Recap for today Monday, February 8, 2021
**PsychoMarket Recap – Monday, February 8, 2021**
Stocks rose Monday, extending advances from last week’s rally as market participants continue to monitor developments in Washington surrounding additional fiscal stimulus. All three indices reached fresh record highs intraday. The S&P 500 (SPY) closed 0.74% up, the Nasdaq (QQQ) closed 0.67% up, and the Dow Jones (DIA) closed 0.72% higher.
Optimism over an additional round of fiscal stimulus rose after a disappointing monthly jobs report last week. While the US economy resumed adding more jobs back than it lost in January, the number of jobs regained fell short of expectations, a sign that the economy might need a fiscal boost to gain momentum. Nonfarm payroll jobs rose 49,000 versus 105,000 expected by economists. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told CBS on Sunday the U.S. could return to full employment by 2022 – or two to three years ahead of some current projections – if measures in Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan were enacted.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives voted to move forward to move forward with a process called reconciliation, which allows Democrats, who have a majority in both houses of Congress, to vote to pass Biden’s new coronavirus stimulus package without Republican votes. Reconciliation is a way for Congress to enact legislation on taxes, spending, and the debt limit with only a majority (51 votes, or 50 if the vice president breaks a tie) in the Senate, avoiding the threat of a filibuster, which requires 60 votes to overcome. Because Democrats have 50 seats in the Senate—plus a Democratic vice president—reconciliation is a way to get a tax-and-spending bill to the president’s desk even if all 50 Republicans oppose it.
President Biden defended his party’s actions by warning that efforts to pass a smaller bill would only prolong the suffering of many American families. He said, “I’d like to be doing it with the support of Republicans. I’ve met with Republicans … but they’re just not willing to go as far as I think we have to go. If I have to choose between getting help right now to Americans who are hurting so badly, and being bogged down in a monthly negotiation or compromising on a bill that’s up to the crisis, it’s an easy choice.”
After reaching an all-time high on January 8, 2021, coronavirus infections have steadily decreased as the pace of vaccinations has increased, recently improving to over 1 million doses per day after President Biden’s administration allowed retail pharmacies like CVS to become vaccination sites.
**Highlights**
* Companies including Lyft (LYFT), Uber (UBER), Twitter (TWTR), Coca-Cola (KO), Corsair (CRSR, and Roku (ROKU), and Disney (DIS) are poised to report quarterly results later this week.
* After Tesla (TSLA) revealed it purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) and would soon accept the cryptocurrency as a form of payment, Bitcoin (BTC) gapped up to reach all-time highs over $40,000. Dogecoin (DOGE) is another crypto receiving attention.
* Softbank (SFTBY) posted impressive earnings on the back of their Vision Fund, one of the largest investment funds in the world. After many high-profile failures in the previous years, the fund recovered after successful IPOs from Airbnb (ABNB) and DoorDash (DASH). Exact numbers for the performance of the fund couldn’t be found.
* AmerisourceBergen (ABC) target raised by Cowen from $145 to $150. Stock currently around $110.
* Baidu (BIDU) target raised by Mizuho from $250 to $325 at Buy. Stock currently around $270
* Marathon Patent Group (MARA) target raised by HC Wainwright from $17 to $30 at Buy. Stock currently around $22.50
* Palo Alto Networks (PANW) target raised by BTIG Research from $419 to $60 at Buy. Stock currently around $380
* Linde (LIN) with two bullish target raises. Stock currently around $257
* Wells Fargo from $289 to $300 at Overweight
* Deutsche Bank from $300 to $330 at Buy
* Regeneron Pharma (REGN) target raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $623 to $640. Stock currently around $498
* The Boston Beer (SAM) target raised by Guggenheim from $1379 to $1400. Stock currently around $1123.
* Zillow Group (ZG) target raised by Deutsche Bank from $160 to $202 at Buy. Stock currently around $164
* Zai Labs (ZLAB) target raised by Jefferies Financial Group from $130 to $225 at Buy. Stock currently around $177.50
**“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.” – Søren Kierkegaard**
https://www.reddit.com/r/StockMarket/comments/lfmexh/here_is_a_market_recap_for_today_monday_february/