Good morning. Another Covid vaccine delay, pipeline hack traces to Russia and a tech stock slump. Here's what's moving markets. Novavax DelayNovavax shares slumped in U.S. trading on Monday, after the company's announcement that it doesn't plan to file for authorization for its Covid-19 vaccine in the U.S. and Europe until the third quarter. The vaccine would offer another mRNA-based option next to Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech's shots, and the EU has concluded exploratory talks for 200 million doses. In more positive mRNA news, the U.S. has authorized Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine for children aged 12 to 15. While their cases tend to be milder, kids can still spread the disease and child cases are responsible for a growing proportion of the U.S. total as more adults get vaccinated. Who DunnitHacking victim Colonial Pipeline said it's manually operating a segment of its crucial fuel artery and expects to substantially restore all service by the weekend. U.S. President Joe Biden stopped short of blaming the Kremlin for the Friday attack, but said "there's evidence" the hackers or the software they used are "in Russia." Such evidence includes its use of the Russian language and its exclusion of Russian companies as hacking targets, according to cybersecurity experts. Citigroup analysts say that the U.S. East Coast is at risk of a "temporary, but major shortage" of fuels following the cyberattack that forced the pipeline's closure. Down DayEuropean stock futures are pointing lower, set to follow Asian markets after a tech-led slump in U.S. shares late Monday. Inflation angst, stoked by a surge in commodity prices, looks to be the likeliest cause for the selloff. As the Nasdaq 100 -- trading at more than 5 times annual revenue -- dropped more than 2.5%, volatility in tech stocks jumped by the most since early March. With inflation expectations leaping to the highest level since 2006, everything from the biggest megacap tech stocks to the frothiest small fry was slammed. Bears, meanwhile, boosted bets against tech stocks, with short interest on the biggest ETF tracking the Nasdaq 100 increasing to the highest level since August. App Store AngerApple is facing a London lawsuit over claims it overcharged nearly 20 million U.K. customers for App Store purchases, yet another legal headache for the tech giant fighting lawsuits across the world. Apple's 30% standard fee is "excessive" and "unlawful," the claimants said in a press release. The claim, filed at London's Competition Appeal Tribunal on Monday, calls for the U.S. firm to compensate U.K. iPhone and iPad users for years of alleged overcharging. Apple has described the lawsuit as ``meritless.'' The tech giant is already embroiled in another legal tussle over its App Store practices with video game maker Epic. Coming Up…European stocks look set to join the rout that engulfed Asian shares, which had their worst day in nearly two months following the tech slide in the U.S. The Queen's Speech takes place in the U.K., laying out the government agenda for the new session of Parliament. In earnings, EON, ThyssenKrupp and videogame publisher Ubisoft are among the big names in Europe, while in the U.S. Electronic Arts, Vizio and WallStreetBets favorite Palantir are set to report. Meanwhile, BOE Governor Andrew Bailey discusses Libor as the much maligned benchmark nears its "final chapter." What We've Been ReadingThis is what's caught our eye over the past 24 hours. And finally, here's what Cormac Mullen is interested in this morningThe world's equity analysts have never been as optimistic. Citigroup Inc.'s Global Earnings Revision Index -- a worldwide measure of analyst upgrades minus downgrades of profit expectations -- has just hit a record high. The measure collapsed to all-time lows at the height of virus fears in March last year. Of the more than 1,000 companies in the MSCI World Index that have reported earnings this season, 77% have beaten estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The question now of course is how much of that good news is in the price with the global stocks gauge already trading around a record high. The clue could be in the fact that the average stock move on the day of a company's earnings release has been 0% this season -- flat as a pancake. That suggests investors have by-and-large priced in the bullish earnings optimism and stocks will need other factors to push much higher from here. Cormac Mullen is a cross-asset reporter and editor for Bloomberg News in Tokyo. Like Bloomberg's Five Things? Subscribe for unlimited access to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close.
An earlier version of Monday's Five Things newsletter corrected the spelling of Anneliese Dodds's name in the first paragraph. |
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