Pfizer's COVID-19 Pill, S&P 500 Rally, 'Sympathy Play Mania' On PreMarket Prep Plus

It’s Monday on PreMarket Prep Plus, so that means it’s time for a “Briefing With Brent.” Brent Slava has been the head of the Benzinga Pro newsdesk since 2013 and has helped investors big and small navigate the financial markets through their ups and downs.

Newsdesk Watches Pfizer News, S&P 500 Futures: At the top of Monday’s segment, Brent wanted to emphasize the double dose of “good news” at the end of last week. The first one being the announcement by Pfizer Inc. PFE that is that it has developed and will be seeking FDA approval for an antiviral pill for COVID-19 that is 89% effective.

In addition, he discussed the price action in the S&P 500 index futures following a better-than-expected jobs number at 8:30 a.m. Friday. He noted that instead of a big blast off the number that is harder to maintain, the index climbed steadily until peaking later in the morning.

His only concern: the volume for most of the week was not as robust in previous weeks as the index was making new all-time highs. Therefore, if the volume does not increase, it could indicate some caution on the part of investors after the index’s spectacular seven-day rally.

Slava On 'Sympathy Play Mania': Another topic of importance Brent brought to investors’ attention was the resurfacing of “sympathy play mania, with the momentum being unusually high lately.”

He noted the momentum can work in investors’ favor, both on the upside and downside. He urged investors to categorize their issues and set up watchlists in order to quickly identify sympathy plays quickly.

Along these lines, he discussed how the Benzinga Pro newsdesk constantly revises its watchlists. It's epecially useful when a particular sector suddenly returns to favor after being dormant.

The full discussion with Brent from Monday’s broadcast can be found here:

More information on the PreMarket Prep Plus broadcast can be found at premarketprep.com.