Here’s what we’re watching ahead of the opening bell on Thursday.
- U.S. stock futures paused ahead of another batch of earnings and data that will give investors fresh insights into the economic recovery.
- Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat. Futures on the technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 index were down almost 0.1%. Read our full markets wrap here.
- Fresh figures showed the number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits declined in the week ending April 17, a sign the labor market is strengthening.
What’s Coming Up
- The U.S. housing market has been constrained recently by tight supplies and rising prices, and economists are forecasting a decline in existing-home sales for March as limited inventories continue to hold back potential buyers. Data are out at 10 a.m.
-
and
are set to report earnings after the New York closing bell.
Market Movers to Watch
- U.S.-listed shares of
shares shed 5.1% ahead of the bell after The Wall Street Journal reported that the bank amassed more than $20 billion of exposure to investments related to Archegos Capital Management.
- Ether, second-largest cryptocurrency by total market value, gained more than 7% to $2,569.96, according to CoinDesk. Ether is part of a wider ethereum network, which has facilitated much of the market for nonfungible tokens.
- Shares in
jumped 9% premarket after the consumer credit reporting agency posted first-quarter earnings that were above forecast and its “highest ever” quarterly revenue.
-
gained 4.3% premarket after the company said it piled on more cellphone users, fiber-optic internet customers and HBO viewers during the first quarter.
- Shares of
a company that engages in the development of laser beam scanning technology, rose 7.7% premarket. The stock was the most mentioned on Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum over the last day, according to TopStonks.com.
-
shares rallied more than 16% premarket after the maker of employee-engagement technology disclosed fiscal first-quarter results that beat analysts’ expectations.
- Meme cryptocurrency dogecoin fell to 27 cents apiece, giving it a market cap of about $35 billion. Last week, the joke cryptocurrency that wasn’t designed to have any real value, hit a record 45 cents intraday, with a market cap of more than $50 billion.
-
blew past Wall Street expectations for its first quarter, saying new menu items, ongoing strength for its online orders and a tailwind from stimulus checks pushed its sales more than 20% higher. Shares gained 1.2% premarket.
- Shares of
rose 1.9% premarket after the appliances maker reported first-quarter earnings that were above Wall Street expectations and raised its guidance.
Credit-reporting company Equifax Inc. corporate offices in Atlanta, Sept. 8, 2017.
Photo:
tami chappell/Reuters
Market Facts
- Capital flowing into funds marketed as ESG-friendly reached $152 billion in the last three months of 2020, up 88% on the previous quarter, according to Morningstar. Over 700 new funds were launched last year, as asset managers raced to get a piece of this wave.
- The price of iron ore—one of the world’s most traded commodities—rose to $187.75 a metric ton on April 20, according to S&P Global Platts. It has risen 17% over the past month, extending a rally that began when prices were below $100 a ton less than a year ago.
- On this day in 1980, market guru Joe Granville signaled his 1,500 premium subscribers to buy stocks. The next day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 4% to close at 789.85. “I don’t think that I will ever make a serious mistake on the stock market for the rest of my life,” crowed Mr. Granville—who freely admitted he didn’t even invest his own money in stocks. However, financial newsletter expert Mark Hulbert later calculated that Mr. Granville’s followers lost 98% of their money following his advice between 1980 and 1987.
Chart of the Day
A year ago, auto dealers saw their profits crumple as the pandemic hit both demand and supply: Consumers stopped buying as many cars as they hunkered down, while auto makers halted manufacturing. Today, they have hit a sweet spot.
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