By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- The FDA releases a data dump on the Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Covid-19 vaccine two days ahead of a meeting that may authorize the drug for emergency use. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) plans to sell billions of dollars in stock; Uber (NYSE:UBER) takes a big haircut on a long-running money loser, and oil is weaker ahead of the latest inventory data. Here’s what you need to know in financial markets on Tuesday, December 8th.
1. Immunization with Pfizer vaccine begins; FDA authorization seen this week
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is set to release a document of around 100 pages evaluating Pfizer/BioNTech’s clinical trial data later Tuesday, ahead of a meeting on Thursday to decide on whether approve the drug for emergency use authorization
The U.S. is facing what could be its worst public health emergency in the country’s history, according to White House task force coordinator Deborah Birx. The number of deaths from the disease, on a 7-day rolling average, hit a new record high on Monday, while the number of those admitted to hospital also hit a new record of over 102,000.
Elsewhere, the U.K. became the first western country to begin a mass program of inoculations against Covid-19 using the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
2. Uber takes a haircut on self-driving unit
Uber abandoned its efforts to develop a self-driving taxi on its own, writing down its investment in the technology by over $5 billion.
The company said it will merge its Advanced Technologies Group with autonomous driving startup Aurora, along with $400 million in cash, in a deal that will give Uber a 26% stake in a group valued at $10 billion. The implicit $2.2 billion valuation for ATG compares with a valuation of $7.25 billion that Uber had put on it last year when it raised private funding from Japanese investors Toyota, Softbank (OTC:SFTBY) and Denso.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the deal, which represents the latest disposal of a money-losing side business for Uber, would accelerate its path to profitability. ATG, along with other technology programs, had contributed around $104 million to a pretax loss of over $1 billion in the third quarter.
3. Stocks set to open lower; Tesla, Palantir, JD JD.Com in focus
U.S. stocks are set to extend Monday’s losses when markets open later, as concern about the spread of lockdown measures to tackle the pandemic returns to haunt cyclical stocks.
Frustration at the lack of progress in agreeing a fiscal relief package on Capitol Hill is also playing a part. Aside from the differences over the sticker price of relief measures, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell is also refusing to approve any bill that doesn’t include provisions protecting businesses from lawsuits by employees who catch the disease at work. House Democrats, meanwhile, are refusing to drop demands for support for state and local governments to cover the costs of dealing with the pandemic.
By 6:25 AM ET (1125 GMT), the Dow 30 futures contract was back below 30,000, down 123 points, or 0.4%, while S&P 500 futures were down 0.4% and NASDAQ futures were down 0.3%.
Stocks likely to be in focus later include Tesla, which announced plans to sell up to $5 billion in stock; Palantir, which received another big government contract, and JD.com (NASDAQ:JD), whose health unit skyrocketed in Hong Kong on its market debut.
4. Brexit talks get personal
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to travel to Brussels to meet in person with European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to try to break the deadlock in talks on the pair’s trading relationship after the post-Brexit transition period ends on December 31st.
Johnson said earlier that “it’s looking very, very difficult” to get a deal, given what the two called “significant differences” over issues such as fisheries and state aid.
EU leaders are set to meet on Thursday, but the U.K. trade agreement isn’t the only issue on the line. The leaders somehow have to bridge differences with Poland and Hungary, who are threatening to veto the badly-needed 750 billion-euro Recovery Fund over the insistence that grants and loans from the fund are tied to meeting conditions regarding the rule of law. EU relations with the conservative administrations of both countries have been increasingly strained by the erosion of judicial independence and other measures in the two countries.
5. Oil weaker ahead of STEO, API data
Crude oil prices fell again as concerns about the spread of the pandemic again fed through into bearish sentiment about the demand outlook.
By 6:20 AM ET, U.S. crude futures were down 0.7% at $45.45 a barrel, while Brent futures were down 0.7% at $48.48 a barrel.
Market focus later will be on the release of the Energy Information Administration’s Short-Term Energy Outlook, and the weekly estimate of U.S. inventories from the American Petroleum Institute.