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US futures point to a green open as virus concerns wane
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Russell 2000 (US2000) eyes retest of key resistance
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Market capitalization of Tesla (TSLA.US) set to exceed the one of Volkswagen
Equities around the world are recovering from yesterday’s sell-off coronavirus concerns waned for now. Situation during today’s session on Wall Street is likely to mimic this performance as US stock market futures point to a green opening. Meanwhile, Tesla is set to open with a market capitalization exceeding the one of Volkswagen, the world’s largest carmaker.
While three major US indices (S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq) are expected to return to ATHs today, Russell 2000 (US2000) continues to lag. The US small-cap index found strong resistance at the zone ranging around 1700 pts handle. The zone may be retested today thanks to upbeat moods on the global markets. A failure to break above could make the index look towards recent low at 1650 pts. Source: xStation5
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.US) is a Dow Jones member that reported earnings ahead of the opening bell today. Results of the company came in line with estimates - Q4 EPS stood at $1.88 (expected $1.87) while revenue reached $20.74 billion (expected $20.8 billion). However, it should be noted that EPS was 5% lower than in the fourth quarter of 2018. However, the company issued an upbeat guidance for the current year - 2020 EPS is expected to fall in the $8.95-$9.10 range, marking a 23-25% YoY increase. Out of 7 Dow Jones members that reported earnings for Q4 2019, all showed revenue growth and 3 showed earnings growth. However, earnings are still 5.99% higher on the index level. Aggregate revenue growth for Dow Jones sits at 4.83% currently.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.US) made a break above the ATH earlier this week. However, the company is set to open 1.2% lower today following the release of Q4 earnings report. Stock should open within the zone marked by previous record peaks and it cannot be ruled out that recent break was a false signal. Should it be so, the first support to watch can be found at the zone ranging around $143.00 handle. Source: xStation5
Abbott Laboratories (ABT.US) also reported earnings ahead of the session open and also showed results more or less in line with estimates. Q4 EPS of $0.95 matched estimate while net sales of $8.31 billion marked a 0.6% beat. Earnings were 17.2% YoY higher while revenue jumped 7.1% YoY. Sales increased in all major segments with US Diabetes Care leading. US health care company highlighted over 60% YoY increase in organic sales of FreeStyle Libre - a glucose monitoring system approved by FDA in 2017.
Tesla (TSLA.US) continues to rally being fuelled by analysts’ upgrades. Analysts from Wedbush raised target for the stock from $370 to $550 today. Tesla is set to open higher today and exceed $100 billion market capitalization for the first time in history. This means that the US electric vehicle manufacturer will have a bigger capitalization than the world's largest carmaker - Volkswagen.
Abbott Laboratories (ABT.US) also broke to a fresh all-time high earlier this week. Company reported results that were in line with estimates therefore no major price reaction is expected at the open. Currently, stock is indicated to open 1.25% higher. The first near-term resistance to watch can be found at the 127.2% retracement of a downward move started in mid-2019 ($91.50). Source: xStation5
