Top stock market news for today January 12, 2022

Stock futures rise ahead of December consumer price indices

Stock futures are slightly higher in early morning trading today. This comes after a rally on Tuesday after a whipsaw-like start to the trading week. All in all, this volatility in stocks isn’t all that surprising. Especially after comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who are making sure the central bank is working to curb inflation. He said, “If we see inflation persisting at a high level for longer than expected, if we need to raise interest rates further over time, then we will.”

As if that wasn’t enough, more inflation-related data is also available today. At 8:30 a.m. ET, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release consumer price index (CPI) figures for December. As it stands, economists are forecasting a 7% year-on-year increase in CPI, the highest since 1982. For reference, this has been compared to a 6.8% year-over-year increase in November.

Brian Belski, chief investment strategist at BMO Capital Markets, offers some insight into this. Belski notes: “I think the biggest comment in the minds of most investors we talk to around the world would be a ‘policy error’ that the Fed might be too aggressive.” He continues, “Mr. Powell actually came out today and said this is going to be a process… as to how long this is going to take, and I think that’s what calms investors down.”

As of 7:13 am ET, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures are trading higher by 0.06%, 0.03% and 0.05%, respectively.

ExxonMobil sells shale gas properties in Ohio worth approximately $200 million; Invests in biofuel company Biojet

oil giant ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) is playing several notable actions this week. As of yesterday, the company has been trying to sell its shale gas properties in Ohio’s Appalachian Basin. Those could be worth about $200 million, given current natural gas prices and production. In detail, the news came from Reuters which cited a marketing document alongside the confirmation from the company. Now Exxon’s current shale gas properties in the region cover a whopping 27,000 acres. To emphasize: 61 oil wells make up this asset. Those all produced about 81 million cubic feet per day equivalent to natural gas. In addition, 274 wells operated by other companies are also included in the current sale.

In addition, the company is investing in this conventional energy source, while investing in clean energy. On the same day, Exxon announced that it has acquired a 49.9% stake in Biojet, a Norwegian biofuel company. The current deal allows Exxon to purchase up to 3 million barrels of Biojet’s biofuel per year. Ideally, this would serve to help the company grow its investments in low-carbon businesses. In addition, Biojet currently plans to develop five facilities for the production of biofuels from forestry and wood-based construction waste.

In the bigger picture, this would be crucial in Exxon’s efforts to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. It aims to do so for its assets in the US Permian Basin by 2030. As a result of all this, XOM stock is currently up more than 12% year-to-date. It seems that Exxon is looking to adapt to the times and investors are eager to follow suit for now.

Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

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Oil prices soar as Fed sees Omicron short-lived impact on economy

At the same time, oil prices are soaring after yesterday’s latest comments by Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell. The price per barrel of Brent oil rose a solid 3.52% to reach $83.72. Additionally, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was up 3.82%, ending the day at $81.22 a barrel. Remarkably, both are at their highest levels since November. Overall, this is likely due to a positive view of energy demand. Yesterday Powell argued that the economic impact of the Omicron Covid variant will be “short-lived”.

In addition, Powell added that the coming quarters could be good for the recovering economy if Omicron declines. Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group, weighs the current price movement of oil in general. Flynn says:A combination of facts – that demand will be stronger than expected and OPEC’s supply may not grow as fast as demand – is why prices are rising.All of this, in addition to oil companies taking notable actions, continues to put the sector on investors’ radar this week.

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Nio releases news on supply deal and HSBC price target boost

Other news, Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Nioz (NYSE: NIO) seems to be making a resurgence. For the most part, this comes as Nio continues on the operational front. For starters, the company is now collaborating with Chinese steel producer Baoshan Iron & Steel. With this deal, the duo will work together through a product and supply chain partnership. According to Nio CEO William Li, “Nio needs a global partner like Baosteel to work hand in hand on products, supply chain, technological innovation, new material applications and carbon-free routes.”

In addition, analysts from HSBC (NYSE: HSBC) are also optimistic about the growth prospects of NIO stocks. Just this week, analyst Yuqian Ding reiterated a buy recommendation with a price target of $54 per share. This would suggest a possible 79.8% gain from yesterday’s closing price of $30.02. Overall, the company cites Nio introducing more models this year and strong demand for its ET5 EVs as driving factors. The real question now is whether investors should buy the current weakness of NIO stock or not.

Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

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Walgreens Conducts “Strategic Assessment” of UK-Based Operations

Walgreens (NASDAQ: WBA) is currently running a “strategic assessment” from its Boots pharmacy chain in the UK This announcement comes from CEO Roz Brewer on the virtual JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) Healthcare conference this week. She said, “Although the process is in an exploratory phase, we expect to be able to act quickly.As it stands, the company is not giving a definitive answer as to whether it would sell its UK-based drugstore chain. A potential sale of the company would at least help fund the company’s ongoing efforts to bolster its healthcare offerings in the US.

To put things in perspective, Boots currently has a network of 2,200 stores across the UK. They meet the daily needs of consumers in terms of health, optics and hearing. Additionally, in addition to the drugstore supplies, Boots also sells a wide variety of beauty products. Not to mention, there’s also the continued rise in Omicron cases in the US to consider. Mizuho analysts believe demand for Covid vaccines and test kits could continue to boost sales for the quarter. Given all this exciting news about Walgreens, I could see investors looking to WBA stocks in the stock market Today.

Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

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