What to watch today: Dow set to continue Monday's robust rally

The Dow was headed for an over 300 point gain at Tuesday's open, with the Trump administration approving Joe Biden's transition and the president-elect set to pick former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary. A day earlier, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 327 points after AstraZeneca and Oxford said their Covid-19 vaccine was up to 90% effective, in a third straight Monday of encouraging late-stage trial data. (CNBC)

Heading into Tuesday's trading on Wall Street, so-called reopening stocks like airlines and cruise lines were getting another boost. Tech stocks, seen as beneficiaries of the pandemic stay-at-home economy, were steady after a rough Monday that put a cap on the Nasdaq's gains. (CNBC)

On today's economic calendar, the S&P/Case-Shiller report on home prices for September is out at 9 a.m. ET. It's expected to show a 5.6% year-over-year increase for the report's 20-city index. That compares to a 5.2% August increase. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for November is released at 10 a.m. ET. Economists see a drop to 98 from October's 100.9 reading. (CNBC)

After-the-bell quarterly earnings reports include those from American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), Autodesk (ADSK), HP Inc. (HPQ), Nordstrom (JWN), Pure Storage (PSTG), Gap (GPS), VMWare (VMW) and Dell Technologies (DELL). (CNBC)

* Here are Tuesday’s biggest analyst calls of the day: GE, Microsoft, Ulta, Target (CNBC Pro)
* Follow all developments on Wall Street in real-time with CNBC Pro's live markets blog

IN THE NEWS TODAY

After weeks of delay, General Services Administration chief Emily Murphy told Biden the Trump administration is making federal resources available for his transition to the White House. A letter from Murphy was officially released minutes before Trump tweeted that he approved the move. However, the president reiterated his false narrative about a "corrupt election." (CNBC)

Just 3% of Trump voters think Biden won the 2020 election, while 73% think the incumbent was the victor, according to a CNBC/Change Research poll. As Trump repeatedly loses vote challenges in court as his lawyers fail to prove wrongdoing in the election count, two-thirds of his supporters think he should never concede to Biden.

* Michigan certifies Biden election win, days after Trump leans on state's GOP lawmakers (CNBC)

Yellen, if approved by the Senate, would become the first woman to serve as Treasury secretary. The 74-year-old labor economist is widely seen as a politically "safe" pick for the role, likely to garner support from Senate Republicans as someone capable of pursing bipartisan compromise during an otherwise fragile time for the economy. (CNBC)

In addition to Biden's announcement that he intends to nominate Antony Blinken as secretary of State and Jake Sullivan as national security advisor, the president-elect on Monday chose Alejandro Mayorkas to lead the Homeland Security Department and Avril Haines as director of national intelligence. Biden also picked former Secretary of State John Kerry as a special presidential envoy for climate. (CNBC)

Besides climate change, the coronavirus will be a top priority of the Biden administration as the seven-day average of new daily U.S. cases reached 172,118, as of Monday, marking another record stretch of infections, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Meanwhile, a record 85,836 people were hospitalized with the virus as of Monday, according to the COVID Tracking Project, run by The Atlantic.

* Russia plans to produce 1 billion doses of its ‘cheaper’ Covid vaccine (CNBC)

General Motors said it's reversing course and will no longer back the Trump administration's effort to bar California from setting its own emissions rules in an ongoing court fight. The about-face Monday came as GM sought to work with Biden, who has made boosting electric vehicles a top priority. The U.S. automaker said last week it plans to increase spending on EVs and autonomous vehicles by 35%. (Reuters)

Tesla (TSLA) co-founder Elon Musk, 49, is now the world's second richest person after he leapfrogged Microsoft (MSFT) billionaire Bill Gates, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, which tracks the wealth of the world's 500 richest people. In January, the electric automaker's CEO was ranked 35th on the rich list.

STOCKS TO WATCH

Best Buy (BBY) reported quarterly earnings of $2.06 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 a share. Revenue came in above estimates as well. Best Buy's comparable sales jumped 22.6%, well above the FactSet consensus estimate of 13.6%. Best Buy continues to withhold financial guidance due to uncertainty stemming from the pandemic. Shares of Best Buy were down nearly 3% in the premarket.

Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) named President Lauren Hobart as its new CEO, effective Feb. 1, succeeding current CEO Edward Stack. Separately, Dick's earned $2.01 per share for the third quarter, nearly doubling the $1.01 a share consensus estimate. Revenue exceeded forecasts, and a same-store sales increase of 23.2% was well above the 14.1% analysts had forecast. Shares of Dick's rose 2% in premarket trade.

Dollar Tree (DLTR) reported third-quarter profit of $1.39 per share, compared to a $1.15 a share consensus estimate. Revenue also topped forecasts. Comparable sales at the flagship Dollar Tree chain beat estimates, but same-store sales at the Family Dollar brand were slightly short of forecasts. Dollar Tree shares rose 4% in premarket trading.

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) earned 76 cents per share for its latest quarter, compared to expectations of a near-breakeven quarter. Revenue also beat estimates, helped by stay-at-home workers and students shopping online for Abercrombie clothing. The retailer's shares jumped 8% in the premarket.

Urban Outfitters (URBN) reported quarterly earnings of 78 cents per share, beating the 45 cents a share consensus estimate. Revenue also exceeded forecasts. The apparel retailer's comparable sales at its flagship Urban Outfitters stores rose 4%, but were down 9% for its Anthropologie chain.

Burlington Stores (BURL), an apparel retailer, beat estimates by 13 cents a share, with quarterly earnings of 29 cents per share. Revenue came in above estimates as well. Burlington's comparable-store sales did dropped by 11%, but that was smaller than the 16.3% decline that analysts were anticipating. Burlington shares slid 3.5% in the premarket.

J.M. Smucker (SJM) reported quarterly earnings of $2.39 per share, 16 cents a share above estimates. Revenue beat forecasts as well. The producer of Jif peanut butter, Folgers coffee and other brands also raised its full-year earnings forecast. As been the case since earlier this year, Smucker benefited from more cooking by consumers forced to spend more time at home due to the pandemic. Smucker shares rose 1.8% in premarket trading.

Food producer Hormel (HRL) fell a penny a share shy of forecasts, with quarterly earnings of 43 cents per share. Revenue came in below Street forecasts as well. Hormel's results were hurt by a weakening of business in its food-service segment. Hormel shares were off 4% in the premarket.

McCormick (MKC) is buying hot sauce maker Cholula for $800 million in cash. The spice and condiment company already owns the Frank's RedHot sauce brand.

Nutanix (NTNX) tanix lost 44 cents per share for its latest quarter, smaller than the 57 cents a share loss that analysts had been anticipating. The cloud software company's revenue was above Street forecasts. Losses widened from a year ago, however, on cautious IT spending as clients try to navigate the Covid-19 pandemic. Shares of Nutanix surged nearly 10%.

MP Materials (MP) reported a more than fivefold increase in third-quarter profit, in the rare earths mining company's first report as a public company. MP went public last week through a merger with special purpose acquisition company Fortress Value Acquisition Corp. MP's shares soared 15% in premarket trading.

Ambarella (AMBA) earned 9 cents per share for its latest quarter, 4 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also beat forecasts and the video components maker issued an upbeat current-quarter revenue outlook. The company's shares climbed nearly 8% in the premarket.

BlackRock (BLK) is buying Aperio, a builder of custom portfolios for wealthy individuals, for $1.05 billion, as the asset management firm tries to add more personalized offerings to its products and services.

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