US OPEN: Wall Street opens flat as stimulus rally fades

• House moves to impeach Trump
• US inflation rate above expectations
• Urban Outfitters (URBN.US) stock plunged  as sales decline

US indices launched today's session flat as investors digest prospects of more fiscal stimulus, political turmoil and rising coronavirus cases. US House of Representatives will vote today to impeach the president for his role in last week’s riots in the Captiol after Vice President Mike Pence declined to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump. At least five Republicans have said they would join Democrats to impeach Trump for the second time. YouTube said Tuesday that it has "removed new content" from President Donald Trump's official channel and banned him from posting new videos for a "minimum" of one week for violating its policies. Yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury briefly traded at 1.18%, its highest level since March. According to some analysts' higher rates could hurt growth stocks, which have been top performers during the pandemic. Yields are rising due to the hopes of additional fiscal stimulus. President-elect Joe Biden is expected to release details on his economic plan on Thursday, but Bloomberg reported that he will seek a deal with Republicans, rather than trying to ram a package through without their support. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs (GS.US) warned that a pullback for stocks could be coming soon, with the influential bank’s Chief Economist Jan Hatzius saying in a research note that U.S. stocks could possibly “take more of a breather” in the near term. 

On the cornavirus front, US reported record 4.3 thousand deaths yesterday. Texas became the second state to surpass 2 million Covid-19 cases. On the data front, annual inflation rate in the US increased to 1.4% in December from 1.2 % in the previous month and slightly above analysts' expectations  of 1.3%. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.4%, higher than 0.2% in November and in line with market estimates. 

US30 is testing the upward trendline. As long as price sits above it, the upward move toward all-time highs at 31,149 pts may be on the cards. However, if sellers manage to break below, a bigger downward correction may start. Nearest support  to watch lies at 30,693 pts and is additionally strengthened by 50 SMA ( green line). Source: xStation5

Urban Outfitters (URBN.US) shares plunged 10% after the company's sales declined 9% during the holiday season. The apparel retailer announced that Trish Donnelly will no longer act as CEO of the Urban Outfitters Group unit and Sheila Harrington, current CEO of the company’s Free People Group division, will also act as CEO of the Urban Outfitters Group.

Urban Outfitters (URBN.US) launched today’s session with a bearish price gap and is currently trading below the major resistance at $28.00. If the current sentiment prevails, the downward move could be extended to the $26.00 handle which coincides with 50 SMA (green line) and 200 SMA (red line). Source: xStation5

Target (TGT.US) announced today that sales surged 17% during the holiday period. Digital sales more than doubled as customers made purchases in all major categories, including home appliances, electronics, and apparel.

Visa (V.US) and fintech Plaid canceled planned merger valued at $ 5.3 million. The Justice Department stopped the deal in November due to anti-trust concerns, and Visa CEO Al Kelly said it would take a long time to fully resolve the dispute.

Ford (F.US) announced that car sales in China rose 6% last year compared to a year earlier, first time since 2017.

Twitter (TWTR.US) - MKM Partners upgraded company's stock to “buy” from “neutral”. MKM Partners believe that the social-media giant is poised to leave negative sentiment stemming from the pandemic and its actions related to the blockade of the President's Trump account.