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What to Watch Today: Wall Street Set to Rise After Best Week Since November

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

BY THE NUMBERS

Dow futures rose Monday, in an advance that would exceed the 30-stock average's closing record and its intraday all-time high, both of which happened last month. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Friday closed at record highs, while the Dow's gain was about 40 points shy of a closing record. All three stock benchmarks logged their best weeks since November. (CNBC)

Tesla (TSLA), in an SEC filing, said the electric auto maker has purchased $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin after changing its investment policy last month. Bitcoin soared over $43,000 in an all-time high Monday. The Tesla filing also said, "We expect to begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for our products." (CNBC)

* Tweets from Musk and other celebrities send dogecoin to a record high (CNBC)

The Reddit-fueled trading frenzy around short-squeeze names receded as shares of GameStop (GME) lost 70% last week, even with Friday's 19% gain. The previous week, the video game retailer's stock soared 400%. Shares rose 12% in Monday's premarket trading. (CNBC)

* Stock conversion allows China's Wanda to sell AMC shares after investor mania (Reuters)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

The U.S. economy could return to full employment in 2022 if President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package were passed, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday. Long-term unemployment is around a historical peak. While Biden has said he wants to get GOP support for his Covid relief measure, Democrats are taking steps toward passing his approach without any Republican votes. (CNBC)

* Democrats to unveil up to $3,600 child tax credit as part of Biden stimulus bill (NY Times)
* Sen. Bernie Sanders opposes cutting the income cap for $1,400 stimulus checks (CNBC)

Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, one of Donald Trump's harshest Republican critics in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, said Sunday he sees a conviction of the former president at his impeachment trial as "very unlikely." Trump's unprecedented second Senate impeachment trial will start on Tuesday. (CNBC)

* 5 key questions about what to expect from Trump's Senate impeachment trial (AP)

South Africa has suspended plans to inoculate its frontline health care workers with AstraZeneca's vaccine after a small clinical trial suggested it was not effective in preventing mild to moderate illness from the variant dominant in that country. The disappointing early results from the study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, indicated that giving the AstraZeneca vaccine may not be useful in South Africa. (AP)

* Coronavirus strain originally discovered in U.K. is doubling in the U.S. every 10 days, study finds (CNBC)
* Biden says it will be difficult to achieve Covid herd immunity before summer's end (CNBC)

Hyundai and Kia said Monday they're not in talks with U.S. tech giant Apple to develop an autonomous vehicle. CNBC reported last week that Apple was close to finalizing a deal with the Hyundai-Kia group to make an Apple-branded self-driving electric vehicle at the Kia assembly plant in West Point, Georgia. (CNBC)

STOCKS TO WATCH

Hasbro (HAS): Hasbro reported quarterly profit of $1.27 per share, 13 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also exceeded forecasts, boosted by ongoing increased interest in its board games and toys amid the pandemic.

Energizer Holdings (ENR): The battery maker beat estimates by 28 cents a share, with quarterly earnings of $1.17 per share. Revenue also topped estimates and Energizer increased its full-year forecast, benefiting from increased demand and lower costs.

Westport Fuel Systems (WPRT): Westport is up by about 50% in premarket trading following news that Amazon.com (AMZN) has ordered about 1,000 truck engines that run on compressed natural gas for its fleet of delivery vehicles. The engines are made by a joint venture between Vancouver-based Westport and Cummins (CMI).

Cubic Corp. (CUB): The provider of transportation-related technology agreed to be bought by Veritas Capital and Evergreen Coast Capital for $70 per share in cash, or about $2.8 billion. Cubic had disclosed potential third party interest in acquiring the company back in September.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR): The maker of data analysis software announced a partnership with IBM (IBM) that will augment IBM's artificial intelligence offerings and make them easier to use. Palantir Chief Operating Officer Shyam Sankar told Bloomberg that the company expects to announce more such partnerships in the future.

Global Payments (GPN): The payments technology company came in 4 cents a share ahead of estimates, with quarterly earnings of $1.80 per share. Revenue essentially was in line with forecasts. Global Payments saw revenue fall from a year earlier, but saw expenses decline as well. The company also announced a partnership with Google to develop a variety of cloud-based solutions for merchants.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A): Royal Dutch Shell struck a deal to supply renewable energy to Amazon. The online retail giant is aiming to derive 100% of its power needs from clean energy by 2025.

PPG Industries (PPG): The paint and coatings maker is the winner in the bidding for Finnish paint maker Tikkurila, after Dutch rival Akzo Nobel dropped out. PPG submitted a revised offer last week that topped the latest overture made to Tikkurila by Akzo Nobel.

WATERCOOLER

Tom Brady made his seventh Super Bowl title look familiar, despite moving south from New England to a new team and conference during a pandemic. Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City 31-9 in Super Bowl 55 on Sunday. Brady, 43, earned his fifth Super Bowl MVP . (AP)


* Super Bowl Commercials 2021: Watch the Full List (CNBC)

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