US OPEN: Lower open of Monday’s session on Wall Street, Viking Therapeutics in spotlight

• Wall Street has lower open on Monday.
• Nvidia added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average
• Viking Therapeutics shares surged after reporting breakthrough results for its obesity pill

US equities are set for lower open, with the Nasdaq 100 leading losses, down 0.4%. S&P 500 is lower 0.3% with the Russell 2000 down 0.4%.

In Europe there are mixed emotions today. Polish W20 is leading with 1.84% gain, followed by British UK100 which is 0.54% higher, while Spanish SPA35 is 0.35% above the open. French CAC40 and Italian ITA40 are flat. German DAX40 is losing 0.32%. 

Viking Therapeutics shares surged 6% to $78 after reporting breakthrough results for its experimental obesity pill VK2735 at the ObesityWeek conference. The shares are currently reversing some of the gains. Nvidia shares rose 1.59% after S&P Dow Jones Indices announced its historic addition to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, replacing Intel. Marriott International shares dropped 2.13% after missing Q3 earnings expectations and lowering full-year guidance. Loews Corp reported strong Q3 results driven by robust performance in its insurance unit CNA Financial and higher investment income.

Current volatility observed on Wall Street. Source: xStation 

The Nasdaq-100 index, represented by the US100 contract, is currently trading slightly below 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level. To maintain upward momentum, the key resistance at 20,638 needs to be cleared. This level corresponds to the weekly close all-time-high and has acted as strong resistance in the previous week. There was already a try to break it on Tuesday, however unsuccessful and led to retracement yesterday.

For bears to gain control, they must defend the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level for a few trading days, followed by the test of mid-August highs at 19,917.81. These levels have provided significant support during the uptrend that began in late July. A break of these support zones could lead to a test of the 100-day and 50-day SMAs.

The RSI is showing signs of bearish divergence, with lower highs and lower lows, while the MACD is starting to widen to the downside, signaling bearish divergence. The bearish signals are starting to weaken. Despite this, the 50-day SMA is widening against the 100-day SMA after a bullish crossover, which still indicates underlying bullish momentum. Source: xStation 5

News:

• Nvidia (NVDA.US) shares rose 1.59% after S&P Dow Jones Indices announced its historic addition to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, replacing Intel (INTC). The move, effective November 8, reflects the growing importance of AI in the U.S. economy and Nvidia's market dominance. The chip giant's shares have surged over 180% year-to-date, pushing its market cap to $3.3 trillion, second only to Apple among publicly traded companies. The replacement of Intel, which has been on the index since 1999, marks a symbolic shift in the semiconductor industry's landscape as companies race to capitalize on the AI boom. 

• Viking Therapeutics (VKTX.US) shares surged 6% to $78 after reporting breakthrough results for its experimental obesity pill VK2735 at the ObesityWeek conference. After first move the shares gain 2.5%. The Phase 1 trial showed patients taking the 100mg dose lost 8.2% of their body weight over 28 days, significantly outperforming the placebo group's 1.4% loss. The drug demonstrated strong safety profiles with no discontinuations at the highest dose, positioning Viking as a potential competitor to injectable treatments from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. All 13 analysts maintain Buy ratings despite the stock's 292% YTD gain. 

Trial Results:

• Weight Loss: 8.2% at 100mg dose vs 1.4% placebo
• Treatment Duration: 28 days
• Stock Performance: +21% premarket
• YTD Gain: +292%

• Marriott International (MAR.US) shares dropped 2.13% after missing Q3 earnings expectations and lowering full-year guidance. The hotel giant reported adjusted EPS of $2.26, below the consensus of $2.31, while revenue came in at $6.26 billion versus $6.27 billion expected. Despite reporting a 3.0% increase in global RevPAR and adding 16,000 net rooms, weakness in U.S. and China travel demand prompted the company to cut its full-year 2024 EPS guidance to $9.19-$9.27 from $9.23-$9.40, falling below Wall Street's $9.36 consensus. 

Q3 Earnings:

• Earnings per share: $2.26 vs $2.31 expected
• Revenue: $6.26B vs $6.27B expected
• RevPAR Growth: +3.0% worldwide
• China RevPAR: -8.4%

• Loews Corp (L.US) reported strong Q3 results driven by robust performance in its insurance unit CNA Financial and higher investment income. Quarterly profit rose to $401 million or $1.82 per share, up from $253 million or $1.12 per share last year. Investment income jumped to $776 million from $592 million, while CNA Financial's insurance premiums increased to $2.59 billion from $2.41 billion. The property and casualty business reported an underlying combined ratio of 91.6%, despite elevated industry catastrophe losses, particularly from Hurricane Milton. 

Q3 Earnings:

• Earnings per share: $1.82 vs $1.12 last year
• Investment Income: $776M vs $592M last year
• Insurance Premiums: $2.59B vs $2.41B last year
• Combined Ratio: 91.6% vs 90.4% last year