Boeing, Pfizer, Lowe's: What to Watch When the Stock Market Opens Today

By Jem Bartholomew 

Here's what we are watching as markets kick into gear Wednesday.

-- Pfizer and BioNTech said they would seek authorization for use of their Covid-19 vaccine within days after it appeared 95% effective in final trial results and showed signs of being safe. Pfizer shares rose 3.4% premarket and BioNTech's U.S.-listed ADR jumping almost 8%.

-- Their performance beat the rest of the market as stock futures edged higher, with investors weighing the risks to the economy from rising coronavirus-infection levels against the prospect of vaccines that could halt the pandemic.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 ticked up 0.4%, with contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.6% and the Nasdaq-100 edging up 0.2%. Wall Street's fear gauge dropped, with the CBOE Volatility Index down more than 4%. Read our full market wrap here.

-- What's coming up. Jack in the Box, L Brands and Nvidia are expected to report quarterly earnings after the closing bell.

Market Movers to Watch

-- Boeing jumped 5.1% ahead of the opening bell after the Federal Aviation Administration approved the airline's 737 MAX jets for passenger flights again after dual crashes took 346 lives, helping to resolve the plane maker's biggest pre-pandemic crisis.

-- TJX climbed 3% ahead of the bell after posting quarterly sales that beat analysts' predictions.

-- Lordstown Motors advanced almost 11% premarket, building on Tuesday's gains of 9.5% after the electric-vehicle maker said production of its electric pickup truck Endurance is on track to begin deliveries by September 2021.

-- NIO's U.S.-listed ADR gained 3.7% premarket after the Chinese electric vehicle company said its sales more than doubled in the latest quarter. But our Heard on the Street colleagues say NIO's stock is accelerating too fast.

-- Bitcoin extended its recent climb to punch above $18,000.

-- Lowe's Companies dropped over 7% premarket despite the home improvement retailer posting third-quarter sales that beat Wall Street's expectations.

-- Target gained 1% before the bell after the company said comparable sales, those from stores or digital channels operating for at least 12 months, increased 20.7% in the quarter ended Oct. 31.

-- Tesla kept climbing by 3% offhours. The electric-car maker gained 8.2% Tuesday after news that it will be added to the benchmark S&P 500 index on Dec. 21.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 18, 2020 08:16 ET (13:16 GMT)

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