Today’s Market Wrap Up and a Glimpse Into Wednesday

Stocks extended their gains on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finding their way back to record ground. The Nasdaq is now hovering above the 15K threshold. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also finished the day in the green. The S&P 500 is up about 19% year-to-date.

Investors are feeling optimistic now that the FDA has formally approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. If a greater percentage of the U.S. population gets vaccinated, it would likely bode well for the economy.  Plus the spread of the delta variant is beginning to show signs of weakening.

Wall Street expects the bulls to stay in control for the rest of the year. Wells Fargo strategist Chris Harvey raised his S&P 500 year-end forecast from 3,850 to 4,825, according to CNBC.

There's a new bull on Wall Street and he says “let the good times roll”! @WellsFargo Securities strategist Chris Harvey on when he sees this record rally losing steam. pic.twitter.com/Li5gCSFOB8

— CNBC's Fast Money (@CNBCFastMoney) August 24, 2021

The oil price was also higher on the day, rising more than 3% to hover above the USD 71 threshold once again.

Stocks to Watch

• Shares of electronics retailer Best Buy soared 8% on the day after the company’s top and bottom-line results surpassed Wall Street estimates. The company also lifted its full-year revenue forecast amid strengthening demand for its products and a return to in-store shopping.
• Cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike Holdings saw its shares climb 8% higher after the stock made its way onto the Nasdaq 100 index.
• Shares of Shanghai-based e-commerce giant JD.com skyrocketed 14% higher on Tuesday on the heels of a 26% jump in Q2 sales to USD 39 billion. The company expects to get through the Chinese government’s tech crackdown unscathed, unlike its competitor Alibaba, whose revenues took a hit as a result.
• GameStop saw its value balloon by more than one-quarter on the day on solid volume as retail investors made bullish bets.
• Shares of clothing retailer Urban Outfitters fell 5% in after-hours trading even though the company’s Q2 earnings and revenue results beat analysts’ estimates.

Look Ahead

Durable goods orders for the month of July will be released on Wednesday. Wells Fargo economists predict that there was a decline of 1.2% amid “a slowing in transportation orders.” Excluding transportation, they forecast a modest increase of 0.5%.

All eyes are on the Fed’s upcoming Jackson Hole economic summit on Friday, the theme of which is “Macroeconomic Policy in an Uneven Economy” and which will be held virtually this year.