The Dow Jones now could see another decline as investors continue to monitor the spread of COVID-19 across the United States. Cases appear to be rising in some states.
Meanwhile, markets continue to see increased momentum from the recent stock splits of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA). More on these developments below.
Here are the numbers from Monday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
28,430.05
-233.82
-0.78
S&P 500
3,500.31
-7.70
-0.22
Nasdaq
11,775.46
+79.82
+0.68
Now here are what I think will be the most important market events and stocks on Monday morning.
The Top Stock Market Stories for Tuesday
On the coronavirus front, cases are now rising in more than half of the United States once again. New cases are up by roughly 5% in at least 26 states. However, across the major, highly populated states like Florida, California, and Texas, cases have declined. The rise of cases in other states has largely coincided with the reopening of in-person K-12 schools and universities. Meanwhile, Johns Hopkins University announced that U.S. cases have topped 6 million.
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Meanwhile, U.S. corporate debt is back at record levels. According to Bank of America, corporate debt has now hit a staggering $10.5 trillion in the form of bonds or loans. That is a 30x increase from 50 years ago. About half of the investment-grade debt - roughly $3.6 trillion - is sitting on the edge of falling to speculative grade, or junk bond, status. Corporate debt markets have improved since March, when the U.S. Federal Reserve began purchasing corporate debt for the first time ever.
Finally, more airline companies are dropping change fees for American travelers. The industry has long held fees at $200 or more for passengers to change their flights. These fees have angered consumer advocates and customers for more than a decade. But now, Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) and American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) announced they will drop their fees. The announcement follows a similar decision by rival United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL). Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) was the only major airline company to not charge fees.
Stocks to Watch Today: ZM, TSLA, KODK
Shares of Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) ripped higher than 22% after the company crushed revenue expectations. Shares are now trading at nearly $400 per share despite having a P/E ratio in the stratosphere. The firm said that revenue more than quadrupled during the fiscal second quarter compared to the same period in 2019. The firm reported earnings per share of $0.92, easily beating expectations of $0.45 per share. Shares of ZM are up more than 370% this year.
Shares of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) are on the move again, gaining momentum after its 5-for-1 share split on Monday. Trading volume has surged in recent months, with shares now up almost 500% over the year. More than 115 million shares exchanged hands on Monday, well above the 30-day average of 73.3 million.
Shares of Eastman Kodak Co. (NASDAQ: KODK) popped more than 20% on news that hedge fund D.E. Shaw took a 5.2% stake in the company. According to a regulatory filing, D.E. Shaw has purchased about 3.94 million shares. The stock has pulled back in recent weeks due to questions about a loan offered by the government that would help the company increase domestic production for pharmaceutical ingredients. Shares of the stock were off about 82% from their July 29 record.
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Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.