5 things to know before the stock market starts on March 4, 2021
Here are the key news, trends and analyzes that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Equity futures indicate more weakness
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Source: NYSE
Futures contracts linked to the Dow Jones industrial average at the open point indicated a loss of about 50 points. S&P 500 futures fell 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures 0.2%. Big Tech, which hit hard in the previous session amid rising bond yields, was still trading in the red in the forex market. Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Alphabet and Netflix all fell slightly in early trading.
Shares suffered heavy losses during Wednesday’s regular trading session as rising bond yields upset investors. The S&P 500 fell 1.3%, while the DJIA closed 119 points, or 0.38% lower. The Nasdaq Composite was the relative underperformer, declining by 2.7% as technology names declined.
Market-moving events on Thursday include Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at The Wall Street Journal Jobs Summit.
2. Unemployed claims on the deck
The couple Renne Alva (37) and Travis Wasicek (43) sit between their belongings along Seawall Boulevard as they embrace to keep each other warm after the record-breaking winter temperatures in Galveston, Texas, February 18, 2021. The couple said they last became homeless years after losing their jobs due to the economic consequences of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Latif Address | Reuters
Investors will also get an update on the pace of labor market recovery when data is released for the first time for jobless claims for the week ended February 27th. Economists polled by Dow Jones forecast 750,000 first-time files.
In the previous week, Unemployment claims reached 730,000, well below the 845,000 Dow Jones estimate. Meanwhile, continued claims reached a fresh pandemic era, just above 4.42 million.
Biden agrees to limit $ 1,400 gains
US President Joe Biden speaks at a virtual meeting with the House Democratic Caucus in the Eisenhower Executive Office building in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.
Yuri Gripas | Abaca | Bloomberg | Getty Images
4. Melvin Capital gained more than 20% in February
This illustration photo shows someone checking the GameStop stock on a smartphone on February 17, 2021 in Los Angeles while the logos Reddit, Citadel, Robinhood and Melvin Capital are seen in the background before the virtual trial involving GameStop shares.
Chris Delmas | AFP | Getty Images
5. SpaceX Starship prototype rocket explodes after successful landing
Starship prototype rocket SN10 stands on the launch pad at the company’s facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
SpaceX
The cause of the explosion, whether intentional or not, was not immediately clear. Elon Musk alternatively refers to explosions as ‘RUDs’, or a quick, unplanned disassembly.
The company test flew the Starship rocket Serial Number 10, or SN10. SpaceX was aimed at launching the prototype as high as 10 kilometers, or about 32,800 feet high. There were no passengers on board the rocket as it is a development vehicle and flies autonomously.
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