Opening Bell: Cyclical Rotation Reverses On Lockdowns, Tesla S&P 500 Listing

 | Nov 17, 2020 11:48

  • Tesla to join S&P 500 Index, gaining blue chip status
  • Lockdowns overshadow progress on second vaccine
  • h2 Key Events/h2

    The much-lauded, cyclical rotation out of the technology sector appears to have reversed during Tuesday's late Asian session. US contracts for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and the Russell 2000 are all down, with only NASDAQ futures in the green at time of writing.

    The move appears to have been spurred by yesterday's announcement that as of Dec. 21, electric carmaker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) will be included in the S&P 500 Index. Shares of Tesla surged over 10% in after-hours trade.

    New lockdowns and restrictions hitting the economies of both Europe and the US because of escalating coronavirus cases may also be playing a role in pressuring small caps and value stocks.

    h2 Global Financial Affairs/h2

    Just one day after Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) dazzled markets with its vaccine's 94.5% efficacy rate—while also stealing Pfizer's (NYSE:PFE) thunder—Monday's rally into industries sensitive to a re-opening economy that would thrive as social restrictions ended, has come to a halt even as markets digest the possibility of two viable vaccines in the months ahead.

    Nonetheless, it remains unclear if the news about the virus, with the US heading toward 12 million cases, gaining about a thousand new COVID cases a day while having already seen over a quarter of a million deaths, is the impetus for the reversed course of the rotation. The driver could be generated by investors' profit-taking.

    Still, tech valuations are stretched, and stocks investors ignored or sold off during the pandemic continue to provide excellent value.

    This morning, after a struggle at the open, bears pushed the STOXX Europe 600 Index lower from an eight-month high. Bank shares retreated after gaining on Monday with the Stoxx 600 Banks Index falling more than 3%, bringing its weekly rally to just shy of 20%.