DAILY MORNING CHAI

Morning Briefing - Taking some profits following sharp advance higher The S&P 500 futures are retracing from record territory and trade 28 points, or 0.7%, below fair value at the end of a strong week. The benchmark index is up 2.3% over the prior three days. Intel (INTC 59.89, -2.57, -4.1%) and IBM (IBM 121.20, -10.45, -7.9%) are notable laggards in pre-market action following their earnings reports with shares down 4% and 8%, respectively. Intel exceeded top and bottom-line estimates and issued upbeat Q1 guidance, but recall that shares rose 6.5% yesterday after the results were leaked right before the close. IBM missed revenue estimates. More broadly, the market is taking a breather amid a lack of new catalysts and after having seen most earnings reports this week exceed expectations. Many market observers have cautioned about a potential pullback, though, so the negative bias today has contributed to a sharp uptick in the CBOE Volatility Index (23.30, +1.98, +9.3%) as investo...

The shares of bitcoin mining companies on Wednesday got slammed, and are on track to post a third straight decline as prices of the most prominent cryptocurrency and the broader virtual-asset market slumps. At last check, shares of bitcoin miner Riot Blockchain Inc. (RIOT) were down by about 14%, while rival Marathon Patent Group Inc. (MARA) was seeing its shares down 17% in Wednesday midday trading. The three-session slide for both companies comes as bitcoins on CoinDesk were down 7.2% so far this week, and valued at $34,096 on Wednesday. The slump in bitcoins comes as incoming President Joe Biden's nominee for Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, during a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday suggested curtailing the use of cryptos, which she said are prone to be used for malfeasance. "And I think we really need to examine ways in which we can curtail their use and make sure that money laundering doesn't occur through those channels," Yellen said. Bitcoin miners ...

The S&P 500 futures trade 28 points, or 0.8%, above fair value to begin the abbreviated trading week and bounce back from last week's decline. Investors are buying the dip while digesting the second day of Q4 bank earnings. Briefly, shares of Bank of America (BAC 32.33, -0.68, -2.1%) and Goldman Sachs (GS 306.96, +6.96, +2.0%) are trending in opposite directions following their results. Bank of America provided a mixed report, missing revenue estimates but beating EPS estimates, while Goldman exceeded top and bottom-line expectations. Separately, Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen is scheduled to speak at her confirmation hearing at 10:00 a.m. ET. Ms. Yellen is expected to say that the U.S. does not want a weak dollar and that it's time to "act big" on fiscal stimulus, according to Bloomberg. Reports also indicate that President-elect Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan will face GOP opposition. Longer-dated Treasuries remain under selling pressure des...