Here are the top news, trends, and analysis investors need to start their trading day:
1. Stock futures are unchanged one day after the S&P 500 and Dow posted new records
People walk past the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City on August 10, 2021.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
US stock futures were little changed on Thursday after another record-breaking session for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average. S&P 500 futures rose marginally while Dow futures climbed 40 points, or 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 futures also rose slightly. The S&P 500 and Dow closed on new all-time highs on Wednesday after investors shrugged at the latest US consumer price index readings. The index rose 5.4% year over year, which was roughly in line with expectations.
2. Unemployment claims are canceled for the third week in a row
A chef interviews a job seeker about hospitality employment during a job fair on June 23, 2021 in Torrance, California.
PATRICK T. FALLON | AFP | Getty Images
Initial jobless claims fell for the third week in a row and hit a new low in the pandemic era, the Ministry of Labor said on Thursday. In the week ending August 7, 375,000 claims were filed, which is an estimate by the Dow Jones. The value for the week ending July 31 has been revised up by 2,000 to 387,000. Meanwhile, the July value for the US producer price index rose 1%, beating a Dow Jones estimate of 0.5%.
3. Alaska Air is considering Covid vaccine mandates for employees
A Boeing Co. 737-9 aircraft during a Boeing Co. ecoDemonstrator program tour at Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, on Wednesday, July 28, 2021.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Alaska Airlines is considering making Covid vaccinations mandatory for employees, a company memo viewed by CNBC said. The airline said if it made vaccines mandatory for its employees, it would do so after the Food and Drug Administration fully approved the vaccinations currently available. This policy change would make the airline the newest airline to require its employees to be vaccinated. United Airlines was the first major airline to do this last week.
4. Give Fed Chairman Powell “the benefit of the doubt” on inflation, Cramer says
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies during a hearing of the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Selection Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis on Capitol Hill in Washington, United States, on June 22, 2021.
Graeme Jennings | Reuters
CNBC’s Jim Cramer urged investors to support the monetary policy approach of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as inflationary pressures mount. “I say, give Jay Powell the benefit of the doubt. He has been right like rain since the beginning of the pandemic. His critics have been completely wrong for ages,” said Cramer on Wednesday at “Mad Money”. “Powell insisted we have to wait and see what happens to the Delta option before raising or even lowering rates.” Cramer also said the recent surge in inflation could be temporary.
5. Messi is partially paid in crypto
The Qatari President of Paris Saint-Germain, Nasser Al-Khelaifi (L) and the sporting director of Paris Saint-Germain, Leonardo Nascimento de Araujo (R), pose next to the Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi (C) while he is during a press Shirt with the number 30 held up August 2021 in the Parc des Princes stadium of the French football club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Paris.
Stephane De Sakutin | AFP | Getty Images
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