Business

5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens Monday

Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:

1. Dow, S&P 500 stand less than 1% from record closing highs

U.S. stock futures were relatively flat Monday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq rallied on Friday. The government's May employment report, while short of lofty expectations, was still solid and boosted confidence in the economic comeback. All three major benchmarks were higher in the first trading week of June. The S&P 500 and the Dow finished less than 1% from their record closes in May. The Nasdaq saw the biggest Friday increase, with a nearly 1.5% advance. However, the tech-heavy index was still 2.3% shy of its late-April record close.

2. Jeff Bezos to fly next month on first Blue Origin passenger spaceflight

Jeff Bezos drives a Rivian R1T electric truck around Blue Origin's launch facility in Texas.
Blue Origin
Jeff Bezos drives a Rivian R1T electric truck around Blue Origin's launch facility in Texas.

Jeff Bezos will fly on the first passenger flight of his space company Blue Origin. The company plans to launch the mission on July 20, the Amazon billionaire announced Monday. Bezos and his brother Mark will join the winner of a public auction being held for one of the seats. Bidding on the auction stood at $2.8 million before Bezos announced he would be on board. Bezos' Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX are two of the biggest commercial space companies.

3. Elon Musk says Tesla officially canceled the Model S Plaid Plus

Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla, tweeted Sunday that the electric auto maker has canceled the most expensive variant of its flagship sedan, the $150,000 Model S Plaid Plus.

Tesla had promised a Plaid Plus version of its new Model S would give drivers 1,100 horsepower, 520 miles of range on a fully charged battery, and zero to 60 mph in less than two seconds. The remaining high-end version of the Model S Plaid at $119,900 was to feature a 390-mile range battery, with 1,020 horsepower, and similar acceleration.

4. AMC shares rose after skyrocketing in a wild trading week

Pedestrians pass in front of an AMC theater in New York.
Scott Mlyn | CNBC
Pedestrians pass in front of an AMC theater in New York.

Shares of AMC Entertainment rose 8% in Monday's premarket after in a wild week that saw the stock surge more than 80% despite declines Thursday and Friday. The movie theater chain last week sold additional shares in two tranches, raising some $817 million. CEO Adam Aron told YouTube host and AMC shareholder Trey Collins that the company wants to issue an additional 25 million shares.

Paramount
Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe star in "A Quiet Place Part II."

The movie theater business, decimated by the Covid pandemic, showed more signs of getting back toward normal. "A Quiet Place Part II," after a stellar opening during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, fell 59% to $19.5 million this past weekend. However, the Paramount sequel has made $88.6 million in the U.S. and Canada. "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It" from Warner Bros. topped the weekend box office, debuting with a $24 million haul.

5. G-7 reaches global tax reform deal; Yellen talks Biden agenda, rates

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak (center), U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (right) attend the first day of the G-7 Finance Ministers Meeting at Lancaster House in London on June 4, 2021.
Stefam Rousseau | AFP | Getty Images
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak (center), U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (right) attend the first day of the G-7 Finance Ministers Meeting at Lancaster House in London on June 4, 2021.

The finance ministers of the most advanced economies, known as the Group of Seven, have backed a U.S. proposal that calls for corporations around the world to pay at least a 15% tax. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen tweeted that a "global minimum tax would end the race-to-the-bottom in corporate taxation, and ensure fairness for the middle class and working people in the U.S. and around the world."

Yellen, former U.S. Federal Reserve chair, said in a Bloomberg interview that President Joe Biden's $4 trillion spending agenda would be positive for the country, even if it leads to a rise in interest rates. "If we ended up with a slightly higher interest rate environment, it would actually be a plus for society's point of view and the Fed's point of view," Yellen said.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow all the market action like a pro on CNBC Pro. Get the latest on the pandemic with CNBC's coronavirus coverage.

Copyright CNBC
Contact Us