US OPEN: Wall Street opens higher, led by bank stocks

• US stocks open higher
• Most of the US banks will increase their dividends
• Home prices surged in April

US indices launched today's session higher, with the S&P 500 hitting another new record high, despite concerns over the spread of the new Delta variant and its impact on the global economic recovery. Several countries including Australia, Malaysia and Thailand introduced new lockdowns or an extension to the current restrictions, while Indonesia reported a record number of new daily cases over the weekend. In Europe, Spain and Portugal announced travel restrictions on unvaccinated British tourists.  On the data front, the average prices of single-family houses with mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the US jumped 1.8 % from a month earlier in April, following an upwardly revised 1.4 % increase in March. It was the biggest monthly increase since the series began in 1991 due to strong demand, bolstered by still-low mortgage rates, and too few homes for sale. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index in the US jumped 14.9% in April which is the largest annual price increase since December 2005. Meanwhile, traders await Friday’s NFP report for more hints regarding the condition of the labour market and its impact on FED monetary policy.

US2000 was trading under pressure yesterday however buyers managed to halt declines at 2305 pts support which is strengthened by 23.6 Fibonacci retracement of the last upward wave and upward trendline. If buyers will manage to uphold current momentum then the all-time high at 2350 pts may be at risk. Source: xStation5  

Major US banks – Goldman Sachs (GS.US), Bank of America (BAC.US), Morgan Stanley (MS.US), JPMorgan Chase (JPM.US) and Wells Fargo (WFC.US) all passed the Fed’s latest stress tests and will increase their dividends. Morgan Stanley shares jumped 3.3% in the premarket, while Goldman stock rose 1.4%.

Morgan Stanley (MS.US) stock launched today’s session with a bullish price gap and broke above 50 SMA ( green line) which coincides with 23.6 Fibonacci retracement of the last upward wave which now acts as a support. If the current sentiment prevails, then the bullish impulse may accelerate towards all-time high at $94.42. Source: xStation5

Facebook (FB.US) market value surpassed $1 trillion yesterday, following a court decision that dismissed both federal and state antitrust lawsuits against the social media giant.

Boeing (BA.US) received a 200 Boeing 737 MAX jet order from United Airlines (UAL.US) as the airline pursues post-pandemic domestic growth. United will buy a variety of Max jets from Boeing and A321neo models from Airbus.

FactSet (FDS.US) stock fell more than 0.5% in premarket after the financial information company reported quarterly earnings of $2.72 per share, slightly below analysts’ expectations of $2.75 per share. Revenue beat market expectations.