US stock markets continue to slide

Major US stock markets continued their way downwards in the past days implying the current uncertainties internationally persist. The current supply disruption matters, China’s internal difficulties with the real estate sector and the energy crunch as well as a very dominating commodity super cycle with prices sky high, seem to affect US companies and investors. This report will overview some interesting stock movers in the past days and the current fundamentals driving their stock prices. Our closing will be a technical analysis on one of the stocks discussed in the fundamentals.

Netflix on the rise with amusing content

Netflix Inc. (#NFLX) was among the stocks that stood out on Tuesday as it moved notably higher by +5.21% and closed the session at $634.81. This upward movement has led Netflix’s stock price to a new 52 week high price while its 52 week low is at $463.41. At the moment Netflix is up 17.40% on a year to date basis. Netflix’s hit show “Squid Game” was in the market’s focus in the past days. During the show, a phone number was displayed as part of the story which apparently is the real number of a woman living in South Korea. After a number of real prank phone calls and text messages received from supposed viewers of the show, the owner of the telephone number insists to be unable to change it, as it is used for business. In this case, Netflix has offered to edit scenes and remove the telephone from the show. This move by Netflix was seen in a positive manner by investors thus was compensated. On the other hand Squid Games has seen tremendous success in viewership and is in the ranks for one of the best series played all time for the online video streamer. Netflix’s ability to provide its subscribers with amusing content is still enduring. Expectations remain high for Netflix’s financial performance and some analysts are keen to raise the company’s future earnings projections. Netflix’s earnings report comes up on the 19^th of October and is worth looking out for.

Merck makes noise with antiviral pill

Merck & Co., Inc. (#MRK) was also in the markets focus in the past days and on Tuesday had left behind -1.81% closing the session at $81.60. At the moment Merck’s stock price is up +4.62% while its 52 week price range is between $68.38 and $84.56.  Since the last days of September and moving into October, Merck’s brand has made considerable noise within the media as the pharmaceutical company prepares the ground for the Molnupiravir antiviral pill to get clearance. Molnupiravir is a medicine that’s given orally in a capsule and has been tested on people diagnosed with Covid-19. Molnupiravir prevents replication of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, as according to Bloomberg it causes the machinery that reproduces the virus’s genetic material to make mistakes, thereby rendering the copies defective. This can support the body’s defensive system to not overreact and possibly handle the virus more effectively. We must note that more testing may have to be undertaken on larger group of participants to fully determine the pill’s effectiveness and possible side effects. Yet the news remains very positive for the time being as this can be considered a step closer to handling the pandemic and removing fears among the masses.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to provide approval for the use of emergency for Molnupiravir, but is reviewing the pill’s data so far. If the pill is approved we may see increased price action volatility among the covid-19 vaccine stocks and of course Merck. Please note Merck’s earnings report comes up on the 28^th of October.   

Facebook in for a ride with latest pressure?

Facebook Inc. (#FB) started the week putting traders on notice for the days ahead. On Tuesday Facebook was up +2.06% closing the session at $332.96. At the moment, Facebook is up +21.89% on a year to date basis and its 52 week range is between $244.61 and $384.33. Former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen noted among media as ”the whistleblower”, has brought to light details on the company’s internal research. According to Frances Haugen Facebook has failed on eliminating violence and that it has misinformed investors about these happenings. The former Facebook product manager testified in Senate on Tuesday on her allegations over the company’s supposed negligence on some matters. Moreover in the past days a global outage suspended Facebook and its other platforms operations for hours. The company officially stated this was due to configuration changes.

Teknikal na Pagsusuri

#FB H4

Technically #FB remains in a downward trend line that has formed since the 10^th of September. This is a rather steep downward movement for the stock which stopped on our currently noted (S1) 323.50 support line which is currently a 4 month low. The second support we have noted is the (S2) 315.55 level, while the final support is the (S3) 305.05 line which is a 5 month low. At the moment the first resistance to be met in a supposed upward movement, is the (R1) 338.15 resistance. Higher than that, stands the (R2) 345.00 line that was last tested on the 1^st of October. Our highest level for this analysis is the (R3) 353.10 resistance. The RSI indicator below our chart confirms the bearish sentiment for Facebook’s share as it is currently running nearby the 30 level for the past 15 days approximately.

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Disclaimer:
This information is not considered as investment advice or an investment recommendation, but instead a marketing communication. IronFX is not responsible for any data or information provided by third parties referenced, or hyperlinked, in this communication.

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