Stocks Rally in Hot Start to 2023 🔥

US indexes closed out 2022 with a whimper. The S&P 500 lost 0.2% to close the year with a 19% loss, marking its worse performance in over a decade. The Dow also lost 0.2%, and the Nasdaq slid to a 0.1% loss. The Russell 2K closed the session flat.

This morning, stock futures are on the rise to kick off the new year. S&P 500 contracts are currently showing a 0.3% gain.

📉 Banks See Rough Waters Ahead: More than 67% of economists at 23 major financial institutions expect the US economy to fall into a pronounced recession in 2023, which will subsequently force the Fed to change course from its rate hike push

Wynn Resorts has been trending higher on China reopening news.

The casino & hotel operator is one of only a handful of American companies allowed to operate in China's coveted Macau region, so news of loosening Covid-19 restrictions in the country has sent shares higher in recent months.

Just this morning, Wells Fargo Securities upgraded the stock from "market perform" to "outperform" in light of the recent news.

News of the upgrade and the stock's upward momentum have helped it climb to the top of the charts in today's premarket.

WYNN is this morning's top S&P 500 stock with a 3.9% gain.

My Take: Casino stocks with Macau operations seem to be the only ones performing well right now. WYNN has had a great run over the past few months, but it has met stiff resistance at $85 per share.

Reports of a merger are skyrocketing shares of Horizon Global.

The towing & trailering equipment company announced a definitive merger agreement with First Brands Group LLC this morning.

Under the terms of the all-cash deal, First Brands will acquire all outstanding shares of HZN for $1.75 per share.

The acquisition price represents a 350% premium from HZN's Friday close, and the deal is expected to close in Q1 2023.

Shares of HZN are up 338.5% in response to the buyout deal, making it today's top premarket performer.

My Take: Huge gain for HZN shareholders, but there's only minimal upside left in the trade at this point. If you're not already in position, you're a little too late to take advantage of this one.

Upbeat clinical data is lifting shares of Chemomab Therapeutics.

The tiny, Israel-based biotech stock announced that its CM-101 drug candidate met its primary endpoint in Phase 2a live fibrosis biomarker trial.

Chemomab released top-line data that showed the drug proved to be safe & tolerable in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) patients.

CM-101 also achieved reductions in several secondary enpoints, including a range of liver fibrosis biomarkers.

News of CM-101's clinical performance sparked a rally in shares of CMMB this morning. The stock is up 37.5%.

My Take: CM-101 is also undergoing a separate Phase 2 trial with results expected sometime in Q1. If it can maintain this level of performance, the other study results could provide a similar catalyst in the weeks ahead.

Novo Integrated Sciences just made a notable acquisition.

After Friday's close, the medical services company made revealed a deal to purchase 100% of Swagcheck Inc [SWAG] for $1.00 in a Form 8K filing.

According to the filing, the deal was expected to close by Dec. 30th, 2022, and it was contingent on a financing commitment of at least $90 million by Dec. 27th.

Under the terms of the agreement, $60 million will go to a court-appointed successor received for the US central district court of California.

Another $30 million is ear marked to be distributed for the benefit of outgoing SWAG shareholders.

Upon closing, SWAG will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Novo Integrated Sciences.

News of the deal sent NVOS to an 82.5% gain in today's premarket, and it's one of this morning's most active stocks.

My Take: Details are scarce on this deal, but it seems like NVOS managed to acquire a company that's having financial troubles at a bargain. The market seems to really like this deal, for whatever reason, but I would be wary of a steep pullback in the days ahead.