Stock market futures continued to rise on Wednesday despite six U.S. states notching a record rise of new coronavirus cases, plus stocks to watch today in the Money & Markets Opening Bell.
The Top Story
The benchmark S&P 500 concluded its best three-day percentage rise on Tuesday after a report indicated retail sales in May picked up as businesses reopened from the coronavirus lockdown.
Encouraging economic data and trillions of dollars in monetary and fiscal stimulus has propelled a rally in Wall Street indexes from their March lows.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones remain about 8% and 11% below their respective closing highs hit back in February while the Nasdaq is about 1% off its all-time closing high on June 10.
But Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that a full recovery is unlikely until the public is confident that COVID-19 is under control. He is expected to wrap up the second day of his testimony before Congress today.
Six U.S. states, including Arizona, Florida and Oklahoma, saw a record increase in new virus infections on Tuesday as states push to reopen.
As of 9:20 a.m. EDT, Dow Jones futures moved up 0.26%. S&P 500 futures were 0.35% higher and Nasdaq futures were up 0.54%.
Stocks to Watch Today
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) — The cruise liner announced it was suspending most global cruises through September 2020. Some select cruises were suspended through October. Shares of Norwegian Cruises were down 7.5%.
Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) — Shares of the American technology company were down 3.2% after it posted weaker-than-expected quarterly sales. The company’s earnings beat Wall Street expectations, but revenue fell 6% from last year.
Draftkings Inc. (Nasdaq: DKNG) — The sports betting company said it plans to sell 33 million additional shares — 14 million to the public, 19 million to existing shareholders and 4.95 million to underwriters. Shares of Draftkings were down 5.8%.
Tesla Registrations in California Fall 37%
As Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk attempts to keep investor sentiment up, sales of the company’s electric cars have fallen off.
Data from the research firm Dominion Enterprises found that registrations for new Tesla vehicles in California dropped by a combined 37% in April and May, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Tesla shares hit record highs last week after data found strong sales data in China — Tesla sold more than 11,000 Model 3 vehicles there last month.
Hilton Lays Off 22% of Its Corporate Staff
Hilton Hotels Corp. (NYSE: HLT) plans to lay off 2,100 employees, or about 22% of its corporate staff, as demand for travel continues to lag.
The hotel chain is also extending furloughs for many of its corporate staff for an additional 90 days, according to CNN Business.
Staff cuts come on top of temporary pay cuts for executives the company announced in March.
Justice Department Eyeing Roll Back of Internet Firms’ Protections
In an effort to keep pressure on tech companies to be more responsible in policing content, the Department of Justice is looking to roll back some protections online platforms have had.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the reforms are meant to spur those platforms to be more aggressive in addressing harmful conduct on their sites. It will have an impact on companies like Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG), Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) and Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB).
It’s also aimed to push those sites to be fairer and consistent in their decision to take down content.
What We’re Reading
Why Trucks on the Highway Is 1 of the Best Economic Indicators (Money & Markets)
Rents Are Dropping Across the US (CNN Business)
Analysts’ Downgrade of Tesla Stock Raises 1 Question: Who Cares? (Money & Markets)
Earnings Report
Here are the companies releasing earnings reports today:
ABM Industries Inc. (NYSE: ABM)
Hudson Ltd. (NYSE: HUD)
Team Inc. (NYSE: TISI)
TransAtlantic Petroleum Ltd. (NYSE: TAT)
Westell Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: WSTL)
Check back each morning before the opening bell for stocks to watch today with Opening Bell, here on Money & Markets.
