Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Stocks to add to Thursday’s Dow comeback
U.S. stock futures Friday added to Thursday’s late-session comeback, which saw Wall Street break a two-day losing streak, putting the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 at about breakeven for the week. The Dow closed up 199 points, boosted by economic comeback stocks, after losing as much as 348 points earlier Thursday. The Nasdaq closed slightly higher. However, the tech-heavy index remained 1.8% lower for the week. The 10-year Treasury yield was up a bit Friday but still below recent 14-month highs.
The Commerce Department is out with personal income and spending figures for February at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect an income drop of 7%. Spending is also seen dropping by 0.8%. In January, income jumped 10%, its biggest monthly gain since April 2020, as Americans received stimulus checks approved in December. Spending in January increased by 2.4%. In the coming months, another round of stimulus checks, approved in March, could start showing up in the data.
2. Office-sharing company WeWork inks new deal to go public
WeWork, which pulled its IPO in 2019 after a dwindling valuation and resignation of its co-founder Adam Neumann, has reached a new deal to go public. The office-sharing company on Friday agreed to merge with special purpose acquisition company, BowX Acquisition Corp. The transaction values WeWork at $9 billion, a fraction of its one-time valuation of around $47 billion. Following the announcement, shares of BowX rose 2.5% in Friday premarket.
3. GameStop shares to open higher after soaring over 50%
GameStop shares jumped roughly 10% in Friday’s premarket, the morning after snapping a five-session losing streak and closing 52% higher. There was no apparent news Thursday. GameStop has been the most high-profile “meme stock,” popular among retail traders on Reddit and other social media platforms. The stock lost about a third of its value Wednesday after the video game retailer delivered disappointing fourth-quarter results, failed to give in-depth detail about its digital turnaround plans, and acknowledged it’s considering selling more stock.
4.Tesla ordered to have Elon Musk delete anti-union tweet
The National Labor Relations Board told Tesla to make Elon Musk delete a tweet that was seen as threatening to labor organizers within the company. The independent federal agency also ordered Tesla to reinstate a fired employee, Richard Ortiz, who was a union advocate. Tesla must also compensate Ortiz for loss of earnings, benefits and adverse tax consequences that resulted from his termination. The NLRB decision was largely in line with an administrative law judge’s ruling from 2019, which Tesla had appealed all the way to the full board.
5. Suez Canal blockage delays estimated $400 million an hour in goods
The Ever Given, a stranded mega-container ship in the Suez Canal, is holding up an estimated $400 million per hour in trade, based on the approximate value of goods that move through the key waterway every day. That’s according to shipping data and news company Lloyd’s List. Lloyd’s values the canal’s westbound traffic at roughly $5.1 billion a day, and eastbound traffic at around $4.5 billion a day. The Suez Canal, which separates Africa from Asia, is one of the busiest trade routes in the world.
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