Topline
Though the market is still incredibly close to record highs reached this week, the broader stock market indexes are edging lower Friday as new coronavirus variants fuel bearishness over an economic recovery and better-than-expected earnings fail to impress Wall Street’s raging appetite.
The cruise ship “The Harmony of the Seas”–part of the Royal Caribbean International fleet–is seen … [+]
Key Facts
Shortly after the open, the Dow Jones industrial average, which closed just shy of a record high Thursday, ticked down 20 points, or 0.1%, while the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq–both also just shy of their peaks–fell about 0.3% each.
Stocks heading up losses in the S&P largely hail from industries hard-hit by the pandemic, with energy firm TechnipFMC and the nation’s largest cruise-liner, Carnival, down about 3% and 4%, respectively, as the White House considers new domestic travel restrictions amid fears that contagious coronavirus variants could spread to more states.
Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line, both of which are still down about 50% from pre-Covid levels, are falling 2%; like Carnival, they’re based in Florida, which is reportedly among the states President Joe Biden’s administration would target with any new travel restrictions or health measures.
Shares of newly public fintech Affirm are down nearly 9% (following near-50% gains since a mid-January IPO) after the firm’s first earnings report failed to impress investors despite a 52% increase in active customers, now totaling 4.5 million, and revenues of $204 million, 8% more than average estimates.
Canadian cannabis stocks Tilray and OrganiGram are holding on to massive Thursday losses, down 5% and virtually flat after tanking 50% and 39%, respectively, as another Reddit-fueled trade catapulted their prices to annual highs.
Global markets, meanwhile, are mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 ending the day down 0.1%, while the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 climbs 0.1% and Germany’s DAX Index slips 0.4%.
Crucial Quote
“The major indices are off imperceptibly from all-time highs, and the fact this may be too much for investors to handle speaks to the present extreme sentiment setup,” Vital Knowledge Media Founder Adam Crisafulli said Friday morning. “That said, travel-linked stocks are getting hit hard on the back of a few negative Covid-19 and travel-linked headlines,” he adds, noting that Expedia said it saw very little improvement in the fourth-quarter despite the holiday season providing a small uptick in travel.
What To Watch For
The White House is set to meet with representatives of the airline industry on Friday to discuss potentially mandating negative Covid-19 tests before travelers can board an airplane. Crisafulli says that could hurt not only the travel industry, but the “whole market too.”
Big Number
64%. That’s how much dating-app Bumble soared in its first day of trading on Thursday, lifting the firm’s valuation to about $13 billion and minting the world’s youngest self-made woman billionaire. The Nasdaq-listed company is up about 5% Friday.
Further Reading
Is The Stock Market About To Crash? (Forbes)
WeedStonk! WallStreetBets Traders Spark Swift Rally And Crash In Cannabis Stocks (Forbes)
Bumble Cofounder Becomes World’s Youngest Self-Made Woman Billionaire, Thanks To IPO (Forbes)
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