The following is the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Shares will fall after Dow and S&P 500 record closes
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Source: NYSE
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi speaks at a product launch event in San Francisco, California on September 26, 2019.
Philip Pacheco | AFP via Getty Images
Uber on Monday released record gross bookings for March, indicating an increase in travel demand. The tech giant’s attraction business was hit hard by last year’s pandemic blockades. Still, Uber benefited from a boom in food delivery, which helped limit losses in 2020. Uber shares rose 2% in Monday’s pre-market.
2. Powell says the Fed is very unlikely to raise rates this year
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks at a virtual press conference in Tiskilwa, Illinois, on December 16, 2020.
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reaffirmed the central bank’s commitment to maintaining easy monetary policy, despite what he considers an economy that is recovering quickly from the depths of the pandemic. “I think it’s very unlikely that we’re going to raise rates like this year,” Powell told “60 Minutes” in an interview aired Sunday. “I am in a position to guarantee that the Fed will do everything possible to support the economy for the time it takes to complete the recovery,” he added. This support includes near-zero short-term debt rates and $ 120 billion a month in bond purchases.
3. The Covid variant eludes protection against the vaccine
A health worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a mobile clinic near Moshav Dalton, northern Israel, on February 22, 2021.
Jalaa Marey | AFP | Getty Images
According to a new Israeli study, the coronavirus variant discovered in South Africa is able to evade part of the two-shot vaccine protection made by Pfizer-BioNTech. The researchers found that the prevalence of the strain among patients who received both doses of the vaccine was about eight times higher than those who were not vaccinated.
View of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ corporate and research and development headquarters on Old Saw Mill River Road in Tarrytown, New York.
Lev Radin | LightRocket | Getty Images
Regeneron plans to ask the FDA to allow its Covid antibody therapy as a preventative treatment. In a phase three clinical trial, the company said the drug cocktail reduced the risk of symptomatic infections in individuals by 81%. The therapy was given to then-President Donald Trump shortly after he was diagnosed with coronavirus last year.
4. The CEOs meet at the White House Chip Summit; Biden meets with lawmakers on infrastructure
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as he announces executive actions on gun violence prevention at the White House Rose Garden in Washington on April 8, 2021.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
5. Microsoft in advanced talks to buy Nuance for about $ 16 billion
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks at the upcoming Decoded Technology Summit in Bengaluru, India, on February 25, 2020.
Samyukta Lakshmi | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Microsoft is in advanced talks to buy the voice recognition firm Nuance Communications, a person familiar with the talks told CNBC. A transaction could be announced as soon as Monday, the person said, adding that Microsoft is willing to pay about $ 56 per share. Shares of Nuance soared close to 24% in Monday’s pre-market to more than $ 56. Buying Nuance could expand Microsoft’s capabilities in voice software. At $ 16 billion, Nuance would be Microsoft’s second-largest acquisition, following LinkedIn’s $ 27 billion purchase in 2016. Microsoft shares varied little.
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