Silver Trade, Pfizer Profit, Big Tech Day: 3 Things to Watch By Investing.com

By Liz Moyer

Investing.com — Stocks rallied on Monday ahead of a big week of earnings for tech companies and as volatility eased from last week’s frenzy.

The short-squeeze darling GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) plunged after a crazy week where retail investors battled against professional traders betting against the video game retailer. The same dynamic spilled over into shares of Express Inc (NYSE:EXPR), Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ:BBBY), and others.

Fourth quarter have been strong so far, with the roll out of vaccines and improving case and death numbers lifting spirits. 

Overall, 37% of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported results for Q4 2020, with about 82% reporting EPS above estimates, which is above the five-year average of 74%.

Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow: 

1. All that glitters….

Silver glittered on Monday, but will traders be able to keep the momentum going? Spot silver jumped 7.6%, to nearly $30 an ounce, and the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) rose 7% after taking in more than $1 billion of inflows on Friday.

But analysts said the rally might not last. Monday’s run up is giving market watchers a break from the GameStop short squeeze saga. GameStop fell 25% on Monday after last week’s frenzy, but investors won’t be distracted away from equities for long. 

2. Covid-19 vaccine maker earnings

Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE), which with BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) was first out of the gate in the U.S. with emergency vaccine approval, will report quarterly results on Tuesday. Analysts EPS of 52 cents on revenue of $12.2 billion.

Analysts will likely be listening to the pharma giant’s earnings call for any news about vaccine production and distribution. The two-shot drug, along with a vaccine from Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) and upcoming candidates from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Novavax Inc (NASDAQ:NVAX) are seen as key to getting the economy back to normal. 

3. Big tech strikes again

Tuesday is also a key day for big tech earnings from Google parent Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and the e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Alphabet is seen reporting EPS of $15.68 on revenue of $52.9 billion. Amazon is expected to report EPS of $7.16 on revenue of $119.7 billion.