Financial market research and analysis

The value of all the stocks in the world put together has reached a giant $100 trillion for the first time.

MARKETS
The Dow fell 0.69% Monday, led by Intel and broad-based weakness in value stocks as rising Covid-19 restrictions offset optimism over an imminent vaccine roll out and signs of progress on a stimulus deal. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.3% lower, with the majority of sectors finishing in negative territory. U.K. banks and homebuilder stocks were under pressure on the index and sterling was down nearly 1% against the dollar. Gold jumped over 1% on U.S. stimulus bets. Bonds were bid as well.
The path to a $908 billion stimulus bipartisan deal in the U.S looks set to clear up in the coming days as lawmakers are expected to agree a stopgap spending bill by the Friday deadline to keep the government funded, buying more time for lawmakers to iron out their differences on stimulus.

WRAP
News
• Asia-Pacific markets are mixed as investors remain cautious over post-Brexit trade deal;
• Chinese e-commerce giant JD Health shares surge 50% on their market debut in Hong Kong this morning;
• Chinese FX Reserves soared most In 7 Years as Beijing starts to intervene against the soaring Yuan;
• US puts sanctions on 14 Chinese officials over Hong Kong crackdown;
• Global Stock Market Cap tops $100 Trillion for first time ever;
• Boris Johnson to go to Brussels in search of way out Brexit stalemate. PM is set for make-or-break political talks after ‘no tangible progress’ made on key differences;
• New York City restaurants face ‘clamp down’ as hospitalisations rise. Officials warn pandemic surge is set to accelerate even faster in the coming weeks;
• FDA could authorize Pfizer’s Covid vaccine this week as U.S. deaths surge;
• U.S Consumer credit misses badly as Americans unexpectedly pay down credit card debt in October;
• Uber abandons effort to develop own self-driving vehicle as start-up Aurora is acquiring Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group;
• Palantir jumped 21% on report of $44 million FDA contract;
• Moderna's stock rallied nearly 5% after Canada doubles order for COVID-19 vaccine candidate;
• Intel fell 4% on fears of rising competition on a report from Bloomberg suggesting Apple is planning to launch a new series of Mac processors next year to outperform Intel’s fastest chips;
• Tesla jumped 8% en route to fresh all-time highs as traders appeared to pile into the company's shares ahead of its inclusion in the S&P 500 on Dec. 21.

What Else?
• Senator Schumer calls on Biden to forgive $50,000 in student debt per borrower;
• Maduro claims victory in Venezuela election boycotted by opposition;
• The BIS issues a dire warning: "We Are Moving From The Liquidity To The Solvency Phase Of The Crisis";
• Macron vows to keep defence ties to Egyptian regime. French president welcomes Sisi to Paris and rejects sanctions over human rights abuses
• Italy’s Eni to buy 20% stake in world’s largest offshore wind farm;
• XPeng stock dropped 2% to extend selloff after public share offering;
• Kodak’s stock soared after Journal report that federal regulators found no wrongdoing in government loan deal;
• Uranium stock Cameco, which controls the world’s largest high-grade uranium reserves reported yesterday that an individual at its Cigar Lake uranium mine in Saskatchewan has tested positive for COVID-1.

Earnings Update
• Toll Brothers is capitalizing on the red hot housing market with net contracts up 26 percent for a record third quarter amid the pandemic.

The Day Ahead
• Earnings: AutoZone Inc (AZO), Barnes & Noble Education Inc (BNED), Gamestop Corp (GME), H & R Block Inc (HRB);
• Macro: German ZEW Current Conditions and Sentiment Indexes, Eurozone Preliminary GDP (Q3), Chinese CPI.

Quote of the day
“Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before." - Mae West.