What to watch today: Wall Street set to continue rally as omicron fears recede

BY THE NUMBERS

Dow futures jumped roughly 350 points Tuesday, one day after the 30-stock average surged 646 points, or nearly 1.9%, as investors grew less worried about the new Covid omicron variant. The S&P 500 gained more than 1% and the Nasdaq, which has hit the skids of late, joined in the rally and advanced nearly 1%. Wall Street, coming off a losing week last week, has recently been volatile, evidenced by the Dow's up and downs since its 905-point plunge on Nov. 26. (CNBC)

* Cramer: Monday's market bounce may not be finished, stocks can go higher this week (CNBC)
* Tech IPOs have been a bad bet in 2021: All but one are in bear market territory (CNBC)

British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said Tuesday that new data from early stage studies showed its antibody-based Covid therapy was effective against all 37 identified mutations of omicron. Last week, other preclinical data showed the treatment, developed by GSK and U.S.-based Vir Biotechnology (VIR) worked on key mutations of omicron. (Reuters)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

Shares of American Airlines gained 3% in the premarket after the carrier announced Tuesday that CEO Doug Parker is stepping down. He'll be succeeded by American President Robert Isom, effective March 31. Parker, 60, has been the longest-serving chief executive of a major U.S. airline. He'll continue as chairman of American's board. (CNBC)

Dow stock Intel rose about 7.5% in Tuesday's premarket, the morning after the Silicon Valley chipmaker announced plans to take its Mobileye unit public in mid-2022. Intel bought the Israeli autonomous driving firm for $15.3 billion in 2017, as part of an effort to branch out into new markets. Intel said it will remain majority shareholder of Mobileye. (CNBC)

* Toyota to build $1.29 billion EV battery plant in North Carolina, create 1,750 jobs (CNBC)

Tesla (TSLA) is replacing repeater cameras in the front fenders of at least several hundred of its Model S, X and 3 vehicles made in Fremont, California, although the company has not yet initiated a voluntary recall. That's according to internal service documents that the electric auto maker distributed in late November. (CNBC)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, said "it might be better" if President Joe Biden's $1.75 trillion social spending plan, which includes incentives to buy EVs, doesn't become law. The bill has cleared the House but not the Senate. Of course, Tesla has been helped by government subsidies.

* Musk says ‘civilization is going to crumble’ if people don’t have more children (WSJ)

Instagram said Tuesday it's launching several new features in an effort to improve teen safety in the app, like parental controls and an option to prevent people from tagging or mentioning teens. The changes come one day before Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri is set to testify before Congress for the first time. (CNBC)

* Astranis signs deal to bring satellite internet to 3 million people in Peru (CNBC)
* Samsung names new CEOs, to merge mobile, consumer electronics units (Reuters)
* Microsoft Office prices going up 20% for some business clients (CNBC)

President Joe Biden is expected to give Russian leader Vladimir Putin a stark warning against attacking Ukraine during a video call Tuesday, but experts say time is running out for the U.S. to prevent further hostilities between the neighboring countries. (CNBC)

* GOP's Devin Nunes resigns from Congress to become CEO of Trump's media firm (CNBC)

Sen. Bob Dole's casket will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday as congressional leaders honor the former Republican presidential candidate and World War II veteran who served in Congress for 36 years. Dole died Sunday at the age of 98. (AP)

* Bob Dole's final column: 'Too many of us have sacrificed too much' (USA Today)

A few dozen survivors of Pearl Harbor are expected to gather Tuesday at the site of the Japanese bombing 80 years ago to remember those killed in the attack that launched the U.S. into World War II. This year's ceremony takes place as a strong storm hits Hawaii, flooding roads and downing power lines. (AP)

STOCKS TO WATCH

MongoDB (MDB) surged 20% in premarket action after the database platform company reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and beat Street revenue forecasts. MongoDB also raised its financial outlook for the year on increased demand from businesses for online connectivity.

Coupa Software (COUP) earned an adjusted 31 cents per share for its latest quarter, well above the 2-cent consensus estimate, with revenue also topping forecasts. However, its loss widened from a year ago with a surge in operating expenses, and shares tumbled 11% in premarket trading.

Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) soared 15.5% in the premarket after announcing positive results in a late-stage trial of its experimental treatment for Rett Syndrome, a genetic disorder that primarily affects brain development in girls.

Mimecast (MIME) agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Permira for $80 per share in cash, or about $5.8 billion. The cybersecurity company jumped 6% in the premarket.

Designer Brands (DBI) beat estimates by 30 cents with adjusted quarterly earnings of 86 cents per share, but revenue fell short of Wall Street forecasts. Comparable store sales did surge by 40.8%, but that was less than the 44.5% analysts had anticipated. Nonetheless, shares rallied 3.7% in premarket trading.

AutoZone (AZO) reported a quarterly profit of $25.69 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $20.87. Revenue also beat estimates, with comparable store sales jumping 13.6%. Analysts surveyed by StreetAccount had predicted a comp-store sales rise of 5%.

Constellation Brands (STZ) agreed to build a new brewery in southeastern Mexico, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The agreement, set to be announced as early as this week, comes two years after the government forced Constellation to close a nearly completed plant near the U.S.-Mexican border.

Bumble (BMBL) rallied 7% in the premarket after JPMorgan Securities upgraded shares of the dating service operator to "overweight" from "neutral," following a meeting with management. The firm said it was now more confident in the growth trajectory and prospects for user engagement with the Bumble app.

WATERCOOLER

Increasingly popular electric bicycles may grow even more so thanks to a provision in Democrats' $1.75 trillion Build Back Better bill. The version passed by the House of Representatives offers some Americans a fully refundable, 30% tax credit on purchases of certain e-bikes. (CNBC)