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Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Stock futures point to more weakness
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Source: NYSE
Futures tied to major U.S. stock indexes were lower, pointing to the third straight losing day on Wall Street.
Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average pointed to a loss of about 50 points at the open. S&P 500 futures fell 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.2%. Big Tech, which got hit hard in the previous session amid rising bond yields, continued to trade in the red in the premarket. Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Alphabet and Netflix all dipped slightly in early trading.
Stocks posted heavy losses during Wednesday’s regular trading as rising bond yields spooked investors. The S&P 500 dipped 1.3%, while the DJIA closed down 119 points, or 0.38% lower. The Nasdaq Composite was the relative underperformer, falling 2.7% as tech names declined.
Market-moving events on Thursday include Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at The Wall Street Journal Jobs Summit.
2. Jobless claims on deck
Couple Renne Alva, 37, and Travis Wasicek, 43, sit amongst their belongings along Seawall Boulevard as they embrace to keep each other warm after record-breaking winter temperatures in Galveston, Texas, February 18, 2021. The couple said they became homeless last year after losing their jobs due to the economic fallout from the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic.
Adrees Latif | Reuters
Investors will also get an update on the pace of the labor market recovery when first-time jobless claims data for the week ending Feb. 27 is released. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones are forecasting 750,000 first-time filers.
In the previous week, jobless claims reached 730,000, well below the 845,000 Dow Jones estimate. Continuing claims hit a fresh pandemic-era low just above 4.42 million.
3. Biden agrees to curbs on $1,400 stimulus checks
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a virtual meeting with the House Democratic Caucus in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.
Yuri Gripas | Abaca | Bloomberg | Getty Images
President Joe Biden has backed a plan to cut the income caps for Americans to receive stimulus checks as part of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package set to pass in the coming days, a Democratic source said Wednesday.
The structure would slash the direct payment income caps approved by the House. Under the lower chamber’s bill, individuals making up to $100,000 (and joint filers earning up to $200,000) would have received some amount. Under the new plan, the phase-out levels for the $1,400 stimulus checks would be $75,000 in income for single filers, $112,500 for heads of households and $150,000 for joint filers.
The House is expected to approve the Senate’s version of the bill next week.
4. Melvin Capital gained more than 20% in February
This illustration photo shows a person checking the GameStop stock on a smartphone on February 17, 2021 in Los Angeles as the Reddit, Citadel, Robinhood and Melvin Capital logos are seen on the background ahead of the virtual hearing involving GameStop stocks.
Chris Delmas | AFP | Getty Images
5. SpaceX Starship prototype rocket explodes after successful landing
Starship prototype rocket SN10 stands on the launchpad at the company’s facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
SpaceX
SpaceX’s Starship prototype exploded shortly after landing for the first time following 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 Starship rocket Serial Number 10, or SN10. SpaceX aimed to launch the prototype as high as 10 kilometers, or about 32,800 feet altitude. There were no passengers onboard the rocket, which is a development vehicle and flies autonomously.
— Follow all the developments on Wall Street in real time with CNBC Pro’s live markets blog. Get the latest on the pandemic with our coronavirus blog.
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