U.S. stock-index futures climbed on Monday, as investors reacted positively to news that Democrat Joe Biden was informally declared the winner of the U.S. presidential race and the report  from Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) that their COVID-19 vaccine candidate was more than 90% effective for people without evidence of prior infection.

Global Stocks:

FXStreet reports that according to economists at Credit Suisse, the S&P 500 Index needs to close above 3550 to see its bullish “triangle” continuation pattern earlier than expected, clearing the way for a move back to the 3588 record high and new highs in due course.

“S&P 500 strength has stalled as expected at the top of its ‘triangle’ range, seen starting at 3523 and stretching up to the 3550 October high, but whilst our bias has been for a fresh swing lower in the range before the bullish ‘triangle’ is established, there is a clear and growing risk we may see an upward resolution sooner than expected, especially with the rising 13 and 63-day moving averages now completing a bullish ‘golden cross’.” 

“A close above 3550 remains needed to see the bull ‘triangle’ confirmed for a move back to the 3588 record high, with scope for an overshoot to its ‘typical’ extreme at 3600/02 (15% above the 200-day average), which we would look to cap at first. If the ‘triangle’ story is correct though we would see scope for new record highs in due course and a move towards 3655/57 next and eventually we think 3900.” 

FXStreet notes that the confirmation of victory for Joe Biden in Pennsylvania on Saturday brought his electoral college vote total past the magic 270 level which prompted all the major media outlets in the US to confirm the election process over – and Joe Biden became President-elect. Economists at MUFG Bank look at the three-month S&P 500 performances around election days and highlight the index rose in eight out of the last ten presidential elections.

“Biden is expected to announce his transition’s COVID-19 task force, consistent with his election promise to focus first on tackling the escalating pandemic. Record infection rates are being recorded in the US, with daily levels surpassing 100K for the fourth consecutive day.” 

“We expect Joe Biden to focus on a fiscal support package focused on COVID-19 which is likely to prove successful even without a ‘blue-wave’ victory. We also expect the Fed to reinforce its loose monetary stance and there is now a real prospect of the pace of QE being increased. These actions will help keep the US dollar under downward pressure. General risk appetite will reinforce that scenario.”

“The US equity markets tend to perform well in the three-month period following an election, no matter who wins. In 8 out of the last 10 presidential elections, the S&P 500 has advanced in the three-month period following election day. 2000 and 2008 were the only two down years. While 2000 was the election in which the result dragged on it was also the period into the 2001 recession while in 2008 it was during the worst period of the Global Financial Crisis. So the omens for risk are very good which means the prospects for the dollar are not great.”

McDonald's (MCD) reported Q3 FY 2020 earnings of $2.20 per share (versus $2.11 per share in Q3 FY 2019), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.90 per share.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $5.418 bln (-1.5% y/y), roughly in line with analysts’ consensus estimate of $5.365 bln.

The company also declared a 3% increase in its quarterly cash dividend to $1.29 per share.

MCD rose to $229.94 (+6.18%) in pre-market trading.

November 9

Before the Open:

McDonald's (MCD). Consensus EPS $1.90, Consensus Revenues $5365.44 mln

After the Close:

Beyond Meat (BYND). Consensus EPS $0.05, Consensus Revenues $132.24 mln

November 10

After the Close:

Lyft (LYFT). Consensus EPS -$0.90, Consensus Revenues $487.22 mln

November 12

After the Close:

Applied Materials (AMAT). Consensus EPS $1.17, Consensus Revenues $4603.30 mln

Cisco (CSCO). Consensus EPS $0.70, Consensus Revenues $11854.84 mln

Walt Disney (DIS). Consensus EPS -$0.65, Consensus Revenues $14139.91 mln