This comes after the S&P 500 and the Dow closed at record closing highs on Friday, despite a significant and unexpected slowdown in monthly jobs. As often on markets, bad news is good news, since this decrease in new employment eased inflation worries and reassured investors that the U.S. Federal Reserve will remain accommodative for the foreseeable future.

Last week, financial markets started to move forward again after a fortnight of stagnation. For those who like statistics, the major indexes had eleven positive weekly performances in the fourteen weeks since the beginning of March. The bullish momentum of corporate earnings and the reopening of economies are keeping the tailwinds in the stock market.

The other debate that has arisen from this curious job data is as old as the feud between the Left and Right. Joe Biden's opponents accuse the Democratic administration's largesse of diverting the unemployed from the job market. This also reinforces the Republican camp's opposition to a new support plan, which it considers unnecessary. The repolarization of American politics is radicalizing positions.

In recent months, the price of raw materials has risen well. Among the most inflated champions in 2021, we find lumber (+93.11%), corn (+56.34%), soybean oil (+53.20%), WTI (+34.68%) and Brent oil (+32.01%) or palladium (+19.19%). Investors are playing the economic recovery but also the protection against inflation. Only precious metals, especially gold, are lagging behind. They are suffering from the increase in 10-year bond rates in the United States.

Last Friday, Colonial Pipeline was the victim of a cyberattack. To contain the threat, it took some of its systems offline, halting operations. The company is one of the largest pipeline operators in the United States, transporting about 45% of the fuel consumed on the US East Coast. It delivers refined products every five days, so the final impact will depend on the period of downtime. As of today, a small portion of the network has been reopened, although the main lines remain inoperable. Since the reopening Sunday night, the WTI price has risen 1.09%.

 

Today's Economic Highlights:

There will be no major indicators today.

The dollar is up to EUR 0.8221. Gold is losing some of its gains, at USD 1837 per ounce. Oil is hovering towards USD 65 a barrel of Brent and USD 68.9 a barrel of WTI. Bitcoin is at USD 58071.

 

On markets:

* Pfizer and its partner BioNTech have signed a new contract with the European Union to supply 1.8 billion doses of their COVID-19 vaccine over the period 2021-2023.

* Eli Lilly announced Saturday that it has signed licensing agreements with three Indian generic drug companies to expand the supply of baricitinib, a compound used to treat COVID-19.

* The Pentagon is considering dropping the estimated $10 billion JEDI IT outsourcing project, whose 2019 award to Microsoft has since been challenged by Amazon.com and regularly criticized by Congress, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

* Ford Motor announced on Sunday the recall of 661,000 copies of its Explorer model in North America at the request of U.S. authorities due to a defect in the attachment of roof bars.

 

Analyst recommendations:

  • Acushnet  : Truist increase price target to USD 48 From USD 42, maintains Hold rating
  • Alphabet and Facebook were downgraded to neutral from buy at Citi
  • Adidas: UBS remains long with target raised from EUR 361 to EUR 363.
  • ArcelorMittal: Keybanc upgrades the ADR from USD 33 to USD 37.  
  • Berkeley: J.P. Morgan upgrades from neutral to overweight with a target of GBp 5400.
  • BMW: Oddo keeps its advice to sell. The target price is being increased from EUR 75 to EUR 80.
  • Centamin: RBC upgrades from sector perform to outperform with a target of GBP 140. 
  • Cushman & Wakefield  : Raymond James adjusts PT to $20 From $19, keeps Outperform rating
  • Flutter: Goldman Sachs remains Buy with target raised from GBp 17250 to GBp 17450.  
  • Kimball Electronics : Sidoti upgrades to Buy from Neutral, PT stays at USD 26
  • London Stock Exchange: Credit Suisse remains Overweight with target raised from GBp 8500 to GBp 9500.
  • Nokia: Morgan Stanley upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight
  • Ocugen  : Cantor Fitzgerald downgrades to Neutral From Overweight, and lowers PT to $11 from $15
  • Oracle was downgraded to equal weight from overweight at Barclays
  • Siemens: J.P. Morgan remains Overweight with target raised from EUR 152 to EUR 162.
  • Societe Generale: AlphaValue upgrades from Accumulate to Buy with a EUR 33.40 target.
  • Standex International  : Barrington Research lifts price to $113 From $110, stays Outperform 
  • Victrex: J.P. Morgan upgrades from neutral to overweight with a target of GBp 2800.
  • Texas RoadHouse  : JPMorgan advances PT to $102 From $99, keeps Underweight 
  • Topbuild  : BTIG adjusts Price Target to $257 From $256, maintains Buy rating