Here are five things you must know for Friday, November 19:
1. — Stocks Futures Ease From Record Highs
U.S. equity futures traded mixed Friday, following on from record highs for the S&P 500 and the Dow last night, amid a delay in voting on President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion social spending bill in the House and renewed concerns for a fourth wave of coronavirus infections in Europe.
An eight hour filibuster from Republican lawmaker Kevin McCarthy delayed a House vote on the bill, which the Congressional Budget Office said would add around $367 billion to the deficit over the next ten years, putting the spending bill in at least some doubt given the Democrats narrow majority in the lower chamber.
Alongside that fiscal doubt, investors were also looking at headlines from Europe, where Austria imposed a national lockdown, set to begin on Monday, after recording more than 14,000 new infections yesterday. That move followed a dire warning from outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who called the Covid situation “dramatic” as infections surge and fatalities rise.
On Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average are indicating a 130 point opening slide while those linked to the S&P 500 are priced for a 9 point move to the downside.
Futures tied to the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite are indicating a 55 point gain as benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields edged lower, to 1.558%, in overnight trading.
2. — Applied Materials Slumps After Supply Chain Hit to Q4 Earnings
Applied Materials (AMAT) – Get Applied Materials, Inc. Report shares slumped lower in pre-market trading after the tech group focused on chipmaking machines posted weaker-than-expected fourth quarter earnings and cautioned that supply chain snarls would hit near-term profits.
Applied Materials, which supplies chipmaking tools to companies such as Intel (INTC) – Get Intel Corporation (INTC) Report, said current quarter sales would likely hit $6.16 billion, shy of analysts’ forecasts, with earnings in the range of $1.78 and $1.92 per share.
“We hit the midpoint of our earnings guidance despite larger-than-expected supply chain constraints,” CEO Gary Dickerson told investors on a conference call last night. “We expect supply chain headwinds to persist into fiscal 2022 and mitigating them remains our top priority.”
Applied Materials shares were marked 5.6% lower in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $149.80 each.
3. — Bitcoin Extends Declines As Mt. Gox Payouts Weigh
Bitcoin prices extended declines in overnight trading, taking the weekly slump to around 15%, as investors backed away from the world’s biggest cryptocurrency following a court ruling on the collapse of an online exchange in Japan.
Mt. Gox, one of the first crypto exchanges, collapsed in 2014 following a high-profile hack that ultimately affected 24,000 customers and lead to the loss of 850,000 bitcoin – now worth around $51 billion.
Earlier this week, a Tokyo court…
Read More: Bitcoin, Moderna, Palo Alto Networks And Markets-5 Things To Know