Uncle Jerome’s 60 Minutes Interview & COVID-19 Vaccine Stocks Propel Market Forward Monday

We now have seen more than 4,758,937 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world with 1.754M cases that have recovered and more than 316k worldwide deaths. In the US, we have 1.525M confirmed cases with 286k that have recovered with 90,263 deaths while our economy is rolling out a reopening of varying degrees in various states as stimulus measures are being pushed forward through the legislature and more is on the way. 

Today, we saw the markets fly forward on the backside of a 60 Minutes interview that aired on Sunday evening where Fed Chair Jerome Powell where he stated emphatically that “assuming there is not a second wave of the coronavirus, I think you will see the economy recover steadily through the second half of this year. For the economy to fully recover people will have to be fully confident and that may have to await the arrival of a vaccine.”  The market also received a slew of fairly positive news arising from a few of the companies working on COVID-19 vaccines that I highlight in the Movers section below.

The S&P 500 closed up 3.15% as eleven of 11 S&P 500 sectors closed in the green led by energy (up 7.6%), industrials (up 6.6%), and financials (up 5.3%) which all bounced significantly. The Dow gained 3.85% with Walt Disney (DIS) closing $116.85/share up +7.2% today while the Nasdaq closed up 2.4% & the Russell 2000 added a whopping 6.1%. 

Most of the popular FAANG stocks participated in the today’s postive move and closed as follows: Facebook (FB) closed at $213.19/share, up by 1.1%, Amazon (AMZN) closed at $2,426.26/share, up .68%,  Apple (AAPL) closed at $314.96/share up by 2.36%, & Netflix (NFLX) dropped .35% closing at $452.58/share, & Alphabet (GOOG) closed at $1,383.94/share up .78%.

On the macroeconomic front, we received the NAHB Housing Market Index Report for May, which confirmed a rise of 37 up from 30 the month before.

Oil prices jumped another today 8.3% and closed at $31.84/bbl post the recent surfacing of the May IEA report confirming that global oil supply is set to fall by a “spectacular” 12 mb/d in May to a nine-year low of 88 mb/d, as the OPEC+ agreement takes effect and production declines elsewhere. Chevron (CVX) closed at $92.55/share up 5.33%, Exxon (XOM) closed at $45.34/share up by 7.95% & Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) closed at $15.07/share up 9.04%. 

The 2-yr US treasury yield moved up 4 basis points to end at .19% & the 10-yr yield moved up by 10 basis points to end at .74%. The U.S. Dollar Index weakened by .8% to end at 99.60. 

Gold prices ended at $1,739/oz (-9) while silver prices closed at $17.26/oz (+.27). North American silver and gold producer Hecla Mining Company (HL) ended the day at $3.15/share up 5.35%.

MOVERS

The following stocks moved significantly today:

• Shares of Moderna (MRNA) closed at $80/share up +20% today after announcing positive information related to their COVID-19 vaccine where they could possibly get the thumbs up to begin a trial as early as July and that they were going to begin ramping their ability to produce it.

• Two other COVID-19 related stocks flew up too as Vir Biotechnology (VIR) jumped 32.13% closing at $40.10/share and Novavax (NVAX) jumped 30.55% closing at $56.96/share today.

• Shares of Atossa Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ATOS) rose to $1.81/share today up 16.47%. Last week Atossa announced their Q1 2020 Financial Results and confirmed the following progress.
  • Launched a new drug development program called COVID-19 HOPE to test AT-H201, a novel combination of two drugs that have been previously approved by the FDA for other diseases. The goal of the COVID-19 HOPE program is to develop a therapy to improve lung function and reduce the amount of time that COVID-19 patients are on ventilators. Atossa has applied to the FDA for approval to commence a clinical study in this setting.
  • Announced that Atossa has contracted with NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan in New York City to conduct the COVID-19 HOPE study of AT-H201.
  • Announced positive interim results from Atossa’s Phase 2 study of oral Endoxifen to treat breast cancer in the “window of opportunity” between diagnosis of breast cancer and surgery. A statistically significant (p = 0.031) reduction of about 74% in tumor cell proliferation was achieved over an average of 22 days of dosing. Proliferation was measured by Ki-67, a recognized standard measurement of breast cancer cell proliferation. Other recent progress with this program includes contracting with Avance Clinical to open a second site for the study in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, with the goal of increasing the rate of enrollment; applying to the Institutional Review Board for approval to open the second site; and, manufacturing sufficient Endoxifen necessary for all patients expected to enroll in this study.
  • Announced that recent input from the FDA on Atossa’s oral Endoxifen program will inform Atossa’s clinical trial strategy and study design both in the U.S. and in Stockholm, Sweden, where Atossa is planning a Phase 2 study to reduce MBD. Atossa plans to commence the MBD study in Stockholm after receiving approval by the European Medical Product Authority (MPA) and the re-opening of mammography clinics in Stockholm following the COVID-19 closures.

TOMORROW

Tomorrow’s significant economic data report schedule will include the following:

• The Housing Starts report for April
• The Building Permits report for April

Economic Reports

• On Monday, we received the NAHB Housing Market Index Report for May, which confirmed a rise of 37 up from 30 the month before.

Investing & Inspiration

“I believe the returns on investment in the poor are just as exciting as successes achieved in the business arena, and they are even more meaningful!” -Bill Gates

“Every portfolio benefits from bonds; they provide a cushion when the stock market hits a rough patch. But avoiding stocks completely could mean your investment won’t grow any faster than the rate of inflation.” – Suze Orman

“The tax on capital gains directly affects investment decisions, the mobility, and flow of risk capital… the ease or difficulty experienced by new ventures in obtaining capital, and thereby the strength and potential for growth in the economy.” – John F. Kennedy

“If all the economists were laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion.
-George Bernard Shaw

“The riskiest thing we can do is just maintain the status quo.
I get up at 4:30 in the morning, seven days a week, no matter where I am in the world. I think it is important for people who are given leadership roles to assume that role immediately. What I’ve really learned over time is that optimism is a very, very important part of leadership.” Bob Iger, Ceo of Disney

“There are old traders and there are bold traders, but there are very few old, bold traders.”-Ed Seykota

“Let this scenario play out on its own, in its own fashion. As you watch it unfold, you will soon be grateful that you choose the peaceful path. Remember — those who live by the sword, die by the sword.”

“As long as you enjoy investing, you’ll be willing to do the homework and stay in the game.” -Jim Cramer

“I rarely think the market is right. I believe non-dividend stocks aren’t much more than baseball cards. They are worth what you can convince someone to pay for it.” -Mark Cuban

“Michael Marcus taught me one other thing that is absolutely critical: You have to be willing to make mistakes regularly; there is nothing wrong with it. Michael taught me about making your best judgment, being wrong, making your next best judgment, being wrong, making your third best judgment, and then doubling your money.” -Bruce Kovner

“The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.” -Jawaharlal Nehru

“The only true test of whether a stock is “cheap” or “high” is not its current price in relation to some former price, no matter how accustomed we may have become to that former price, but whether the company’s fundamentals are significantly more or less favorable than the current financial-community appraisal of that stock.” -Philip Fisher

“I learned to avoid trying to catch up or double up to recoup losses. I also learned that a certain amount of loss will affect your judgment, so you have to put some time between that loss and the next trade.” -Richard Dennis

“The four most dangerous words in investing are: ‘this time it’s different.” -Sir John Templeton

“Money doesn’t make you happy. I now have $50 million but I was just as happy when I had $48 million.” -Arnold Schwarzenegger

Tomorrow

Tomorrow’s significant economic data report schedule will include the following:

• The Employment Situation Report for April
• The Wholesale Inventories for March