Summary:
- US stocks set to reopen sharply higher after long weekend
- US30 moves above 26000 for 1st time; US500 above 2800
- Citigroup shares rise after earnings
Wall Street is set to open higher this afternoon after being closed for a long weekend with the US yesterday celebrating a bank holiday for Martin Luther King day. Despite the stock market being closed futures have still traded and the gains seen in them indicate that it will be a bright start to the week for shares.
The US30 has extended higher and continued its rally with the benchmark moving above the 26000 handle for the first time ever. The market has begun the New Year in a bullish mood with gains of well over 1000 points since 2018 began. The US500 has also risen whilst US traders have been away with the index breaching 2800 to post a new all-time high.
The US30 has rallied strongly at the start of the year and has today moved above the 26000 handle for the first time ever. Source: xStation
In terms of individual stocks, Citigroup will be in focus today after the firm reported its Q4 results. The bank comfortable beat expectations on its adjusted EPS ($1.28 vs $1.19 exp) and also just about managed to top the consensus forecasts for revenue ($17.26B vs $17.23B exp). Interestingly we may also have seen some creative accounting in light of the new GOP tax plan. A net loss of $18.3B ($7.15 per share) was posted which included a $22B ($8.43 per share) non-cash charge related to the enactment of the tax reform.
It appears that Citigroup have chosen to include the charge – which means that Q4 is the worst ever loss for the bank – so the losses are recorded under the old tax regime and profits can be moved into the news, lower-taxed regime. The market reaction clearly sees this as positive with the share price up by around 2.5% in pre-market to be expected to open around 78.85 – their highest ever level.
Citigroup shares are expected to open at their highest ever level after the latest trading update. Source: xStation