Stock Market Futures Under Pressure As Potential Taper Talks Loom
U.S. stock futures appear to be taking a breather as investors gear up for the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium (JHES). Sure, the JHES would be a key event to note today. Namely, this would be the case as investors wonder when the Fed will start tapering its pandemic-era asset purchase program. The likes of which would depend on the current state of the economy. Naturally, the Fed would do so should the economy begin to recover. However, with the recent resurgence in Delta variant cases, things are somewhat uncertain for now.
Providing some insight into this, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) Senior Macro Strategist Zach Griffiths said, “If you look at the July FOMC statement, they did indicate that they have seen progress toward their goals, but if you listen to [Powell’s] press conference, he really walked that back and said they are still a ways off from ‘substantial further progress’ threshold. So we expect Chairman Powell to remain resolutely dovish.”
More importantly, what does all this mean for the broader stock market today? Well, to highlight, we are still amidst an earnings season where retailers continue to smash expectations. Even as coronavirus fears build-up, retail shoppers appear to be out in full force. As of 7:11 a.m. ET, Dow futures are edging up by 0.03%. Meanwhile, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures are declining by 0.08% and 0.18% respectively.
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Electric Vehicle Stocks Getting Charged Up In The Stock Market Today
Things appear to be heating up in the electric vehicle (EV) industry today, to say the least. For starters, Chinese EV company Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) posted stellar figures in its second-quarter fiscal today. Mainly, it posted massive year-over-year surges of 439% in total vehicle deliveries and 536% in total revenue. This comes just after the company is starting to export its flagship P7 sedans over to Norway. Notably, this marks the company’s first push towards international markets. Moreover, it is also a strategic place to be given the surge in consumer demand for EVs in the region. This would be the case as 54% of new cars sold in Norway for 2020 were electric, as per government findings.
At the same time, the EV charging industry continues to grow as well. Earlier today, shareholders of Tortoise Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: SNPR) approved the company’s business combination with Volta Charging. In brief, Volta is a notable name in the U.S. EV charging station market now. The likes of which continue to gain momentum both from investors and the federal government. Through this combination, the company will be going public under the ticker “VLTA” on the NYSE tomorrow.
Elsewhere, even global infrastructure giants like Siemens (OTCMKTS: SIEGY) are now getting in on the action. According to a press release from the company earlier this week, Siemens is expanding its EV charging station manufacturing capabilities in the U.S. So much so that it is now looking to manufacture over 1 million chargers for the U.S. through 2025. With all this movement in the EV space now, I can understand if investor hype continues to build.
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Quantum Encryption Services On The Horizon As Cybersecurity Concerns Arise
Quantum computing stocks remain a hot sector of the booming tech industry today. For the most part, the tech outpaces its predecessors by leaps and bounds in terms of computational power. With this massive jump in performance also comes the potential for an uptick in high-end cyberattacks. To meet rising threats such as these, companies such as Arqit are rising to the occasion.
For starters, the company is set to merge with Centricus Acquisition (NASDAQ: CENH) by the end of August. Under the terms of the SPAC merger, the British company would be worth about $1.4 billion. Now, more importantly, Arqit primarily works to secure customer network devices against sophisticated cyber threats. This would include quantum computer-based ones as well. Company founder David Williams said in a recent interview that while the SPAC market slows, Arqit’s prospects could appeal to long-term value investors. After all, with quantum computing potentially being the next frontier of digital warfare, some could see CENH stock as a viable play now.
For one thing, the company is not sitting idly by on the operational front. As of earlier this week, Arqit is now working with engineering firm Babcock International Group (OTCMKTS: BCKIF). Through this collaboration, the duo will jointly test and experiment with a series of use case scenarios involving Arqit’s QuantumCloud service. The core end market for this current test would be government and defense-based customers. Given all of this, would you be watching CENH stock in the stock market today?
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Peloton Earnings In Focu After The Closing Bell
Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ: PTON) would be an interesting play in the stock market now, to say the least. Sure, many would consider PTON stock a prime stay-at-home bet given the nature of its offerings. For the uninitiated, Peloton identifies as an exercise equipment and media company. This is apparent as the company sells a wide array of premium home exercise machines. The likes of which also come with in-built interfaces that allow customers to access the company’s exercise programs virtually. With Peloton looking to report its second-quarter fiscal after today’s stock market close, investors could be keeping an eye on PTON stock.
Regardless of the current market conditions, Peloton continues to power on. Earlier this week, the company revealed it will be finally debuting its Peloton Tread in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. At launch, the Tread will be priced at $2,495, considerably lower than the rest of the company’s offerings. This would be a smart play as Peloton attempts to cater to a wider market.
If anything, the coming quarter will be a crucial one for the company as investors consider its prospects amidst a recovering economy. As a result, it would not be surprising if many are keeping their eyes on PTON stock today.
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From EVs to quantum computing and even retailers, the current earnings season has had no shortage of excitement. As a result, I could understand if investors are still eager to follow through with the tail-end of this season. For those looking to catch names reporting before the opening bell, retail names are on tap today. This includes the likes of Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF), Dollar General (NYSE: DG), Coty (NYSE: COTY), Burlington (NYSE: BURL), and 1-800-Flowers.Com (NASDAQ: FLWS).
Subsequently, if post-market earnings are more to your interest, several tech giants’ earnings are on tap. Names such as Marvell (NASDAQ: MRVL), Workday (NASDAQ: WDAY), HP (NYSE: HPQ), and Dell (NYSE: DELL) fit the bill. All in all, whether it is keeping tabs on the Fed, staying up to date with the EV industry, or digesting earnings, there is a lot to keep you busy today.
