US stocks were up on Monday as investors kicked off the shortened Thanksgiving holiday week. Treasuries were stable and the U.S. dollar rallied as investors welcomed news that Jerome Powell would be renominated as head of the Federal Reserve by President Joe Biden. Lael Brainard will be nominated as Vice Chair. Wall Street views the appointments as a continuation of current monetary policy.
Meanwhile, news of giant mergers boosted the markets. Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) and Corona’s Constellation Brands Inc are exploring a merger. The beverage companies are worth $47 billion and $44 billion respectively. MNST traded up 0.60% to $89.94 a share while Constellation (STZ) lost 2% in early trading.
In Europe, unrest is brewing over the renewed lockdown and pandemic controls. As the continent battles with the fourth wave of the pandemic, protests are erupting against the strict measures. (Story continues below.)
| Level | Chg. | Chg. % | |
| DOWÂ | 35,761 | 154 | 0.43% |
| S&P 500Â | 4,722 | 25 | 0.54% |
| Nasdaq COMP | 16,143 | 88 | 0.55% |
U.S. Dollar and Treasuries
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose two basis points. The dollar strengthened against a basket of major currencies.
| Price | Chg. | Chg. % | |
| U.S. Dollar Index (DXY): | 96.41 | +0.39 | +0.37% |
| Yield | |||
| U.S. 1 Year Treasury Bill | 0.168% | ||
| U.S. 5 Year Treasury Note | 1.243% | ||
| U.S. 10 Year Treasury Note | 1.589% |
Stocks To Watch
Tesla rallied nearly 4% after jumping 3.7% on Friday as investment firm Wedbush boosted its price target. CEO Elon Musk is still selling his shares after a Twitter poll.
Nvidia shares rose further after Friday’s 4% rally following the company’s earnings report. Investors are bullish on the company’s positioning to serve the development of the Metaverse.
Surging COVID 19 cases are boosting shares of vaccine makers. Shares of Novavax surged over 12% over the last week, as European regulators announced that a decision on the vaccine is coming within weeks.
Shares of Moderna climbed further after jumping 5% on Friday, as the FDA approved its booster shots. The FDA also approved Pfizer’s booster shots.
| Symbol | Company Name | Price | Chg. % | Volume |
| TSLA | Tesla Inc. | $1,162.06 | 2.20% | 334.19K |
| NVDA | NVIDIA Corp. | $337.66 | 2.37% | 333.6K |
| NVAX | Novavax Inc | $200.49 | 4.24% | 58.61K |
| PFE | Pfizer Inc. | $51.33 | 1.04% | 83.66K |
| MRNA | Moderna Inc. | $270.00 | 2.36% | 85.46K |
Commodities To Watch
Oil dropped on supply and demand concerns. Rising COVID cases in Europe are threatening supply, while governments have signalled a release of reserves to curb prices. Gold dropped on the strong dollar.Â
| Resource | Price | Chg. % |
| WTI Crude Oil | $75.70 | -0.32% |
| Brent Crude Oil | $78.60 | -0.37% |
| Natural Gas | $4.80 | -5.23% |
| Gold | $1,843.30 | -0.45% |
| Silver | $24.81 | 0.10% |
| Copper | $4.37 | -0.86% |
Crypto
The global crypto market cap is $2.57T, a 2.23% decrease over the last 24 hours. Bitcoin’s dominance is currently 42.08%, a decrease of 0.14% in the same period.
| Currency | Symbol | Price | Chg. % | Market Cap. |
| Bitcoin | BTC | $57,786.45 | -2.36% | 1.09t |
| Etherium | ETH | $4,219.99 | -2.81% | 498.23b |
| Binance coin | BNB | $575.12 | -1.85% | 86.46b |
| Solana | SOL | $221.24 | +3.57% | 67.21b |
| Cardano | ADA | $ 1.81 | -3.30% | 56.19b |
