5 things to know before the stock market opens on February 23, 2021

Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:

U.S. equity futures were mostly lower on Tuesday, indicating a 1.8% drop in the Nasdaq, a day after the index fell nearly 2.5% in its worst one-day decline in almost a month. Tech stocks continued to slide in Tuesday’s pre-release, with Apple down 2% after closing nearly 3% lower on Monday.

Dow Home Depot stock has fallen 2% in pre-market trading over fears that sales gains from the Covid pandemic will last. A drop in inventories of this magnitude would result in a significant drop in modest gains since the start of the year.

The S&P 500 on Monday fell nearly 0.8%, in a fifth straight decline, its worst streak in nearly a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Averaged Index held up Monday’s decline, closing slightly higher. He does it again Tuesday morning. All three stock indexes remained stronger during the month.

As part of a mandated biannual economic testimony, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell is on Capitol Hill twice this week, appearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday and before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. Rising bond yields and accompanying inflation fears add a higher level of concern around Powell’s remarks. The 10-year Treasury yield, which moves inversely to price, was slightly lower on Tuesday morning. But it has been rising lately and is trading around 1.36%. It was as high as 1.39% on Monday, the highest in about a year.

Bitcoin plunged 9% on Tuesday morning, falling below $ 50,000. The world’s largest digital currency, still up 60% this year, hit a record high of over $ 58,000 on Sunday. Price fluctuations of more than 10% are not uncommon in the crypto markets. Bitcoin has already climbed to nearly $ 20,000 in 2017 before losing 80% the following year. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned of such wild swings on Monday.

Shares of Tesla, which earlier this month revealed an investment in bitcoin, fell a further 4.5% in Tuesday’s pre-market. The title fell more than 8.5% Monday in its largest drop since the end of September. True, other tech stocks also suffered heavy losses on Monday. Ahead of trading on Tuesday, shares of electric automaker Elon Musk rose just 1.25% this year. However, in the past 12 months, Tesla has grown by almost 300%.

Home Depot Earnings and Revenue in the Fourth Quarter have exceeded expectations as consumers invest more money in home renovations due to the pandemic and the strength of the real estate market. However, shares fell on comments from The Home Depot’s chief financial officer, wondering how long the pandemic would last and how it might influence consumer spending.

Macy’s shares rose more than 1% in the pre-market after the retailer reported its first quarterly profit in a year. Fourth-quarter revenue also exceeded estimates, as the company’s efforts to reduce inventory during the holiday quarter and rely less on large discounts paid off. Ahead of Tuesday’s trading, shares of Macy’s have risen 35% this year, although they have struggled for the past 12 months.

Electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors plans to go public for a combined stock valuation of $ 11.75 billion through a reverse merger with a blank check company. The deal between California-based Lucid and Churchill Capital Corp IV is the most significant in a series of mergers involving EV companies and special purpose acquisition companies. CCIV shares fell over 30% on the pre-market. But speculation about the deal has pushed the SPAC stock to 470% this year alone. Lucid is led by former Tesla Engineering Director and automotive veteran Peter Rawlinson.

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