Here are the top news, trends, and analysis investors need to get their trading day started:
1. Stock futures indicate more weakness
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Source: NYSE
Futures linked to major US stock indices were lower, pointing to Wall Street for the third day in a row.
Futures contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average indicated a loss of around 50 points on opening. S&P 500 futures fell 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.2%. Big Tech, badly hit in the previous session due to rising bond yields, continued to trade in the red on the pre-market. Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Alphabet and Netflix all fell slightly in early trading.
Stocks posted heavy losses during Wednesday’s regular trading as rising bond yields frightened investors. The S&P 500 fell 1.3% while the DJIA was down 119 points, or 0.38%. The Nasdaq Composite was the relative underperformer, falling 2.7% as tech names fell.
Among the market-moving events on Thursday was the speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the Wall Street Journal’s Jobs Summit.
2. Unemployment claims on deck
Married couple Renne Alva, 37, and Travis Wasicek, 43, sit among their belongings on Seawall Boulevard and hug to keep warm after record breaking winter temperatures in Galveston, Texas on February 18, 2021. The couple said they were last left homeless a year after losing their jobs due to the economic fallout from the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Adrees Latif | Reuters
Investors will also be informed of the pace of the labor market recovery when unemployment claims data is first released for the week ending February 27. Economists polled by Dow Jones forecast 750,000 first-time applicants.
The previous week, unemployment claims reached 730,000, well below the Dow Jones estimate of 845,000. The ongoing claims hit a new low in the pandemic-era just over 4.42 million.
3. Biden agrees to curb $ 1,400 of stimulus checks
United States President Joe Biden speaks during a virtual meeting with the House Democratic Caucus at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.
Yuri Gripas | Abaca | Bloomberg | Getty Images
President Joe Biden has endorsed a plan to lower income caps for Americans to receive stimulus checks under the $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package due to be passed in the coming days, a Democratic said Source on Wednesday with.
The structure would lower the House-approved ceilings on direct payments income. According to the lower chamber’s bill, individuals earning up to $ 100,000 (and joint applicants earning up to $ 200,000) would have received some amount. Under the new plan, the stimulus exam exit levels would be $ 1,400, $ 75,000 for single applicants, $ 112,500 for heads of household, and $ 150,000 for joint applicants.
The House is expected to approve the Senate version of the bill next week.
4. Melvin Capital gained more than 20% in February
This illustrative photo shows a person checking GameStop inventory on a smartphone in Los Angeles on February 17, 2021 while the Reddit, Citadel, Robinhood and Melvin Capital logos appear before the virtual hearing with GameStop inventories in the background.
Chris Delmas | AFP | Getty Images
5. The SpaceX Starship prototype rocket explodes after a successful landing
Starship’s SN10 prototype rocket is on the launchpad at the company’s Boca Chica, Texas facility.
SpaceX
SpaceX’s spaceship prototype exploded shortly after landing for the first time after a high-altitude flight test.
The cause of Wednesday’s explosion or whether it was intentional was not immediately clear. Elon Musk alternatively refers to explosions as “RUDs” or “Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly”.
The company test flew with the Starship rocket Serial Number 10 or SN10. SpaceX wanted to launch the prototype to an altitude of 10 kilometers or an altitude of 32,800 feet. There were no passengers on board the rocket, which is a development vehicle and flies autonomously.
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