US OPEN: Equities open at record highs

• House passes bill to increase stimulus checks to $2,000

• US30, US100 and US500 near record highs

• US2000 falls below 50-hour moving average

• Lemonade shares eligible to trade after the lockup period

American stocks launched Tuesday’s session higher as further stimulus package news offer hope for quicker economic recovery. US House of Representatives voted to raise stimulus checks to $2,000 from $600. However, some point out that the GOP-led Senate is unlikely to pass the bill. While European equities push higher, Nikkei225 climbed to to levels not seen since early 1990s. S&P 500 leads early gains among major US indices. Meanwhile, Russell 2000 (US2000) lags behind. With no relevant events in today’s economic calendar, trading is once again focused on headlines. 

US2000 has turned lower in the last 24 hours despite overall market optimism - an interesting divergence as the S&P 500 (US500) opened at record highs today. The index fell below 50-hour moving average earlier (purple line) and is currently trading slightly below 1,990 pts. The area ranging around 1,990 pts was a critical support line before market open (note previous price reactions). Apart from that, it coincides with 100-hour moving average (orange line). Should declines deepen, the attention might focus on 1,970 pts. Source: xStation5

Company News:

Lemonade (LMND.US) - roughly 44 million shares (more than three-fourths of all outstanding stock) become eligible to trade today after the lockup period on insider sales expired. An insurance company is one of the most successful IPOs of 2020 as the current price is nearly 300% higher than the IPO price ($29). Shares gained 5% after market open.

Novavax (NVAX.US) has begun a Phase 3 clinical trial of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate on up to 30,000 people in the US and Mexico. This will be the fifth vaccine to enter final-stage testing. 

Cisco Systems (CSCO.US) has abandoned its efforts to develop its smart-cities products. According to Cisco spokesman, the company has stopped sales and eventually support for the Cisco Kinetic City, which was one-promising market for the firm.  

Cisco Systems (CSCO.US) shares have been struggling with the downward trendline, which coincides with the 50% Fibo retracement of the recent major sell-off. Should buyers push the price higher, the next Fibonacci retracement at $48,20 might be regarded as the nearest resistance area. Source: xStation5