What to watch today: Stock futures rise after June jobs report tops expectations
Stock index futures rose slightly after the release of the government's better-than-expected June employment report. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to register yet another record close Thursday. The broad index is riding a six-day win streak, matching its longest of 2021. A higher session Friday would give it its first seven-day win streak since last August.
The Dow – which lagged the other major averages in June – has risen in three straight sessions and is at its highest since June 4. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are all positive for the week and are on track to chalk up a second straight weekly gain.
* Treasury yields dip despite anticipation over June jobs report (CNBC)
The U.S. economy added 850,000 jobs in June, eclipsing the Dow Jones consensus projection of 706,000. The Labor Department's key report also showed the unemployment ticked up to 5.9%, when economists expected it to come in at 5.6%.
At 10:00 a.m. ET, May factory orders are projected to show a 1.7% jump following April's 0.6% decline.
Bitcoin was trading slightly higher this morning to around $33,100 per token. The world's largest cryptocurrency by market value has faced weakness in the past two months and last week briefly turned negative for the year when it sank below $29,000.
* Bitcoin's 'mining difficulty' is about to fall. Here's what that means for the cryptocurrency (CNBC PRO)
There are no earnings reports on the calendar for today, either this morning or after today's closing bell. The New York Stock Exchange is closed Monday in observance of Independence Day.
IN THE NEWS TODAY
Robinhood Markets has 18 million retail clients and more than $80 billion in customer assets, according to its highly anticipated IPO filing Thursday. The free stock trading pioneer said it was profitable in 2020, registering $7.45 million in net income on net revenue of $959 million. However, the brokerage ended the first three months of this year with a loss of $1.4 billion, which is connected to its emergency fundraising during January's GameStop frenzy. (CNBC)
* Feds seized Robinhood CEO's phone as part of GameStop trading probe (CNBC)
* Robinhood says dogecoin accounted for 34% of crypto revenue in Q1 (CNBC)
Space tourism company Virgin Galactic (SPCE) scheduled its next test spaceflight for July 11, and company founder Sir Richard Branson intends to be onboard. The timing is particularly noteworthy, as the U.K. billionaire aims to beat Jeff Bezos to space. The Amazon founder is scheduled to launch on July 20 with his own company, Blue Origin. Shares of Virgin Galactic rose more than 28% in premarket trading. (CNBC)
Toyota Motor sold more vehicles in the U.S. than General Motors (GM) in the second quarter, marking the first time the Japanese automaker has done so in a three-month reporting period. On Thursday, Toyota said it sold 688,813 vehicles in America from April through June, narrowly edging out GM's 688,236 vehicles. Toyota's results topped analyst expectations; GM's came up short. The last time GM was not America's top-selling automaker for a quarter was the third quarter of 1998, when Ford outsold it, according to Edmunds. (CNBC)
A 2021 Tesla (TSLA) Model S Plaid sedan caught fire near Philadelphia earlier this week while the vehicle's owner was at the wheel, according to the local fire chief. Deliveries of the new, high-performance version of Tesla's flagship sedan started in June. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told CNBC it is in touch with relevant agencies and the carmaker to obtain more information about the incident. After seeing smoke, the owner of the car was able to get out of the vehicle before flames engulfed it. (CNBC)
* Chinese electric car start-up Li Auto delivers over 1,000 more cars than Xpeng in June (CNBC)
Search and rescue operations at the collapsed Florida condominium building have started back up, following a pause Thursday morning due to worries that the rest of the structure may fall. According to the mayor of Miami-Dade County, 145 people remain unaccounted for and 18 people are confirmed dead. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden met with victims' families and first responders in Florida on Thursday. (CNBC)
The U.S. military has handed over Bagram Airfield to the Afghan National Security and Defense Force, departing after nearly 20 years a central facility in the country's wars in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The move is part of the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, which Biden has said would be completed by Sept. 11. (Associated Press)
* Attorney General Merrick Garland orders halt to federal executions (USA Today)
STOCKS TO WATCH
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) said its Covid-19 vaccine showed promise against the delta variant and other emerging strains of the virus. It also said immune response among vaccine recipients lasted at least eight months.
Didi Global (DIDI) shares gave up a premarket gain, following news that China's Cyberspace Administration will conduct a cybersecurity investigation into the Chinese ride-hailing company's operations.
Raytheon Technologies (RTX) won a $2 billion Air Force contract to produce a nuclear-armed cruise missile. Design and manufacturing of the missile is expected to be completed in February 2027.
Verizon (VZ) told regulators it would continue to support low-cost wireless service if it is allowed to complete its $6.9 billion deal to buy prepaid mobile phone provider Tracfone.
Apollo Global (APO) announced it would buy a stake of up to 24.9% in financial technology investor Motive Partners, with The Wall Street Journal reporting that the transaction values Motive at about $1 billion.
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