Despite slight losses in US stock indices ahead of the main trading session, the premarket trade for some American companies is quite volatile. Investors still expect significant intraday upward movements, even despite a possible reduction in the Federal Reserve's economic support program and a slowdown in the Chinese manufacturing and services sector activity. However, it would be a wise decision not to rush into purchases, especially at the beginning of the week.
Let's go through those securities that showed the greatest movement in premarket trading today:
Tesla has released a software update that allows its customers to request access to its Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software. Access will be granted to Tesla drivers with a high safety score. Against this background, the company's shares added about 2.0%.
The shares of carmaker Toyota Motor also gained about 1.3% in premarket trading after the company announced it had completed a $25.8 million buyback. Nevertheless, the situation in the auto sector is still grim. According to the latest research by IHS Markit, automakers' profit growth rate could be reduced significantly by the end of the year. The main problem remains the shortage of microcircuits, spare parts, and chips due to the pandemic-related supply chain disruptions. Such problems may persist until late October 2021. This, in turn, is likely to affect prices and manufacturers' shares in the 4th quarter of this year.
As for the news from the tech sector, Alphabet Inc's Google has announced that it will cut down on the amount of revenue share it keeps when customers buy software from other vendors on its cloud marketplace. According to the latest rumors, Google will now collect only 3% instead of the previous 20%. In premarket trading, shares showed insignificant reaction to the news.
Acceleron Pharma Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has announced that it is in talks to be acquired by a large pharmaceutical company for about $180 a share in cash. Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) is considered one potential candidate, as it already owns an 11.5% stake in Acceleron. The news led to slight gains in stocks in premarket trading.
Altice USA slid by 1.8% in premarket action as its rating was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform, signaling the likely short-term negative impact of an aggressive fiber expansion strategy.
Markets are expected to come under pressure again this week as traders will closely monitor the statements by central bankers, including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's speech. This news may determine his future fate as the head of the Federal Reserve. The fact how the markets will react is not clear, but any unscheduled changes will result in a sell-off of indices.
Speaking of the S&P 500 index, from a technical point of view, traders managed to protect the support level of 4.425. Then they aimed at the strong resistance level at 4.488 but failed to achieve it. In the meantime, the index is trading in the middle of this channel. Given the upcoming fundamental news, the asset will most likely come under pressure again. Thus, the best way to make a profit is to buy from the lower border of the channel, the level of 4.425. Besides, bulls have a chance of reaching the middle border of the Bollinger Bands indicator located at around 4.400 on the 4-hour chart as a last resort. Only if the price goes beyond the resistance level of 4.488 and Fed officials decide not to rush to tighten monetary policy in November this year, the index will be able to advance to the high of 4.529 and then test its annual levels in the area of 4.551.
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