Here are the top news, trends, and analysis investors need to start their trading day:
1. S&P 500 appears to be cementing its longest monthly profit streak in nearly 4 years
Traders will work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York on Monday, August 23, 2021.
Michael Nagel | Bloomberg | Getty Images
US stock futures were stable on Tuesday, the last day of August, with the S&P 500 posting a seventh straight monthly gain, the longest monthly winning streak since December 2017. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed again at record highs on Monday. The Dow fell slightly, taking the 30-share average to just over 0.6% from its last record high earlier this month. The Dow and Nasdaq also expected solid gains in August.
A trader working in New York City after the Nasdaq opening bell on April 18, 2019.
Hit by Betancur | Getty Images
Zoom Video Communications shares fell more than 14% in the premarket on Tuesday, a drop that would wipe out profits in 2021 and a few more. While the stock beat estimates with quarterly earnings and sales, the stock came under pressure to slow growth due to the meteoric highs at the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020. Zoom also provided forward guidance that was broadly in line with estimates.
2. South Korea passes bill to limit Apple and Google’s control over App Store payments
The App Store logo that appears on a smartphone.
Igor Golovniov | SOPA pictures | LightRocket via Getty Images
The South Korean parliament passed a bill on Tuesday to curb Apple’s payment policies and Alphabet’s Google, which force developers to only use the tech giants’ proprietary billing systems. When the measure goes into effect, it will make South Korea the first country to track large app store operators who can charge commissions of up to 30% on in-app transactions. Regulators around the world are focused on leveling the playing field, and analysts see the South Korea move as a possible first step towards greater oversight by other countries.
3. Biden talks about the end of America’s longest war
Taliban troops stand guard one day after US troops leave Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 31, 2021.
Stringer | Reuters
President Joe Biden is due to speak to the nation on Tuesday afternoon about his decision not to extend the US mission to Afghanistan. The US has completed its evacuation efforts from Kabul airport, ending America’s longest war. The conflict, which lasted almost two decades, began not long after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In the final weeks of the US troops and diplomatic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the civilian government fell to the Taliban. On Thursday, ISIS-K terrorists killed 13 US soldiers and dozens of Afghans in an attack outside the airport. US forces struck back and launched strikes.
4. Rectifying Ida power failures can take weeks; Forest fire threatens Lake Tahoe
A building was destroyed after Hurricane Ida on August 30, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Repairing power outages from Hurricane Ida could take weeks in some parts of Louisiana, officials said. Ida devastated the area’s power grid, leaving the entire city of New Orleans and hundreds of thousands of other Louisiana customers in the dark. Power outages and widespread flooding slowed energy companies’ efforts to assess damage to oil production facilities, ports and refineries, many of which closed before the storm, on Tuesday.
A chairlift in the Sierra-at Tahoe ski area stands still as the Caldor Fire moves through the area on August 30, 2021 in Twin Bridges, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Wildfire swept toward Lake Tahoe Tuesday, hours after the entire California resort town of South Lake Tahoe was evacuated. Communities across the state line in Nevada have been warned to prepare for departure. The risk of fire is so widespread in the area that the US Forest Service announced on Monday that all national forests in California will be closed by September 17.
5. CDC scientist says data are limited to evaluate boosters for the general population
Nurse Samantha Reidy gives Alan Kramer, 74, a cancer patient, his Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 booster syringe on August 24, 2021 at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut.
Joseph Precious | AFP | Getty Images
A CDC scientist said Monday that the data needed to properly evaluate Covid vaccine boosters for the general population is limited – even as the president is pressuring health officials to stop the additional vaccinations from the week of Jan. . To release for wide distribution in September. The CDC stressed that vaccinating the unvaccinated should be a “top priority”; giving additional booster doses to vaccinated individuals should not deter those who remain unprotected from the virus. Biden said Friday that U.S. regulators are considering giving Covid booster vaccinations five months after the basic immunizations are completed.
– Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. Follow all market activity like a pro on CNBC Pro. Get the latest on the pandemic with coronavirus coverage from CNBC.
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