Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Dow to recover some of the losses in Thursday’s sell-off
Dow futures bounced roughly 200 points Friday, one day after a broad sell-off on Wall Street. The Dow lost 259 points, or 0.75%, on Thursday, finishing roughly 1% away from Friday’s record close. The 30-stock average had been off as much as 536 points during Thursday’s session. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also ended off their lows of the day, retreating from Wednesday’s record closes. All three stock benchmarks were on track to finish lower for the week. Concern about a slowdown in economic growth, due to the spread of the Covid delta variant, hurt sentiment Thursday, with investors buying bonds for their perceived safety and driving yields lower.
2. 10-year Treasury yield bounces off February lows
Bond yields, which move inversely to prices, rose Friday. The 10-year Treasury yield was back above 1.34% after falling Thursday as low as 1.25% to levels not seen since February. The 10-year yield hit a then-14-month high of 1.78% in March. It began 2021 at less than 1%. Treasury yields have generally been falling over the past week, with declines accelerating Thursday on delta variant worries and an unexpected jump in first-time filings for jobless claims for last week, rising from the previous week’s Covid-era lows.
3. Biden to sign executive order to crack down on Big Tech
The White House is expected to announce Friday a new executive order aimed at cracking down on anticompetitive practices in Big Tech, labor and numerous other sectors The sweeping order, which includes 72 actions and recommendations that involve a dozen federal agencies, is intended to re-shape the thinking around corporate consolidation and antitrust laws, CNBC’s Ylan Mui reported. “The impulse for this executive order is really around where can we encourage greater competition across the board,” White House chief economic advisor Brian Deese told Mui in an exclusive interview.
4. Pfizer is developing a Covid booster to target delta variant
Pfizer and BioNTech are developing a Covid booster shot intended to target the delta variant, already the dominant form of the disease in the U.S. While they believe a third shot of their current two-dose vaccine can preserve the “highest levels” of protection against all currently known variants, the companies are “remaining vigilant” and working on an updated version of the vaccine. Thursday’s announcement came the same day Olympics organizers said they’re banning all fans from the games this year after Japan declared a state of emergency for Tokyo to curb a wave of new Covid infections.
5. Wells Fargo tells customers it’s shuttering all personal lines of credit
Wells Fargo plans to end a popular consumer lending product, angering some of its customers. The bank is shutting down all existing personal lines of credit in the coming weeks and no longer offers the product, according to customer letters reviewed by CNBC. The revolving credit lines, which typically allow users borrow $3,000 to $100,000, were pitched as a way to consolidate higher-interest credit card debt, pay for home renovations, or avoid overdraft fees on linked checking accounts. Wells Fargo is still recovering from the aftermath of its 2016 fake accounts scandal.
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