The Dow Jones now is rising as tech firms like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) bounce back from last week's volatility. Shares of both stocks have been on a roller coaster since they split at the start of the month.
Markets also liked the news that Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) plans to distribute its COVID-19 vaccine before the end of the year. That's if it can be proven to be safe and effective by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...
Here are the numbers from Friday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
| Index | Previous Close | Point Change | Percentage Change |
| Dow Jones | 27,665.64 | +131.06 | +0.48 |
| S&P 500 | 3,340.97 | +1.78 | +0.05 |
| Nasdaq | 10,853.55 | -66.05 | -0.60 |
Now here are what I think will be the most important market events and stocks on Monday morning.
The Top Stock Market Stories for Monday
This morning, shares of Nikola Corp. (NASDAQ: NKLA) fell nearly 7% on news that the electric truck manufacturer is facing fraud allegations from short seller Hindenburg Research. The short seller issued a well-documented report this month called "How to Parlay an Ocean of Lies into a Partnership with the Largest Auto OEM in America." The report claims that "Nikola is an intricate fraud built on dozens of lies over the course of its founder and executive chairman Trevor Milton's career." Nikola responded this morning to the report stating that there were "dozens" of inaccurate claims in the report.
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- Meanwhile, weekly COVID-19 cases are again on the rise by 5% or more in 11 states, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Wisconsin has just reported a record high in cases thanks to a 32% surge in reports from a week ago. Disease experts are increasingly concerned about another uptick of COVID-19 cases as we enter the fall, which coincides with the start of flu season. Dr. Anthony Fauci said last week that the number of news cases were "unacceptably" high heading into the fall.
- In deal news, artificial intelligence icon Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) announced plans to purchase semiconductor producer Arm Holdings from SoftBank for $40 billion. This is a massive deal and a huge bet for Nvidia, whose shares rallied 6% on the news. The firm said that the deal will require some debt, cash, and common stock. The news helped propel other semiconductor stocks like Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD), Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) and Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) higher.
Stocks to Watch Today: IMMU, GILD, ORCL, MSFT, DAL, UAL, AAL
- Shares of Immunomedics Inc. (NASDAQ: IMMU) popped more than 105% after the biotech stock announced plans to sell itself to Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) for $21 billion. The deal will help bolster Gilead's expanding roster of cancer treatments. The news also helped propel the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF up more than 2% this morning.
- Meanwhile, shares of Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) added another 8% on news that it is partnering with Bytedance. The Chinese firm behind TikTok reportedly rejected a takeover offer from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) for the social media group. The Trump administration ordered that Bytedance divest its U.S. operations over growing concerns about data privacy across the country. MSFT stock was off 1% this morning.
- Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) added 2% after the company announced plans to leverage its frequent-flyer program in order to obtain much-needed cash. The company will borrow $6.5 billion backed by the program. This is increasingly common in the airline industry as companies scramble to obtain financing with revenue levels crashing. Both United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) and American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) have organized similar financing plans.
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About the Author
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.