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Stocks Pull Back Amid Fears Of New Anti-Virus Restrictions

By:
Vladimir Zernov
Published: Nov 17, 2020, 13:40 UTC

Meanwhile, Tesla is finally added to the S&P 500.

U.S. Stock Market

In this article:

Coronavirus Is Back Into Spotlight As States Announce New Virus-Related Restrictions

S&P 500 futures are losing ground in premarket trading as traders turn their attention to new virus-related measures in the U.S.

Some states have announced their decisions to limit public gatherings while California decided to close non-essential businesses in many counties.

Yesterday, U.S. reported more than 160,000 new cases of the disease, and the current trend is worrisome. If the situation does not improve in the upcoming days, more restrictions could be introduced.

The market hopes that vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and other producers will be able to solve the problem, but mass vaccination is still months away.

Meanwhile, negotiations regarding the new coronavirus aid package have completely stalled, and the economy may lack the necessary support during the challenging winter months.

Still, there is plenty of money on the sidelines waiting for a pullback, and it remains to be seen whether short-term virus-related worries will be sufficient enough to put real pressure on stocks.

Tesla Is Set To Join S&P 500

It’s a great day for Tesla bulls as the stock will join S&P 500 before the market open on December 21, 2020.

Tesla had a market capitalization of almost $400 billion at yesterday’s close, and index funds will face a challenging task rebalancing their portfolios to include Tesla.

Not surprisingly, Tesla shares are gaining more than 13% in premarket trading as investors prepare for a wave of forced buying from index funds.

Tesla’s strength also helps other tech stocks, and Nasdaq futures are up in premarket trading while S&P 500 futures are losing more than 0.5%.

Retail Sales Increase By 0.3% Month-Over-Month

The U.S. has just reported Retail Sales data for October. Retail Sales grew by 0.3% month-over-month compared to analyst consensus which called for growth of 0.5%. On a year-over-year basis, Retail Sales increased by 5.7%.

The slowdown in Retail Sales growth may put additional pressure on stocks as the U.S. economy is heavily reliant on consumer activity.

The virus situation got worse in November, so the market may wonder whether Retail Sales will continue to grow in the last two months of the year.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.

About the Author

Vladimir is an independent trader and analyst with over 10 years of experience in the financial markets. He is a specialist in stocks, futures, Forex, indices, and commodities areas using long-term positional trading and swing trading.

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