Stock futures wavered and the 10-year Treasury yield climbed above 1.6% for the first time since June ahead of jobs data that is expected to show a drop in the unemployment rate. Here’s what we’re watching ahead of Friday’s open.
- Bitcoin rose 2.4% from its price at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, and stocks in the crypto world were also gaining. The SEC approved Volt Equity’s ETF, which aims to track companies that hold a majority of their assets in bitcoin or derive most of their earnings from bitcoin-related activities. Coinbase COIN 0.48% was up 1.1% premarket, and bitcoin miner Marathon Digital MARA -1.39% gained 2.2%.
- Vaxart VXRT -0.14% shares jumped 9.7% premarket after the company said its oral Covid-19 vaccine candidate has shown it could reduce the airborne transmission of the virus in an animal model.
- Fellow vaccine makers Moderna MRNA 2.29% and Novavax, NVAX 2.34% that have suffered price stumbles recently, were also on the rise premarket, up by 0.9% and 1.6% respectively.
- Crude prices are climbing, and shares of energy producers are following them higher. Occidental Petroleum OXY 1.50% added 1.3% premarket, Devon Energy DVN -0.72% gained 1.8% and oil-services company Halliburton HAL 1.70% rose 1.1%.
A pump jack operated at a well site leased by Devon Energy Production Company near Guthrie, Okla., Sept. 15, 2015.
Photo: nick oxford/Reuters
- Tesla TSLA 1.39% shares nudged up 0.2% after the electric-car maker said it is moving its headquarters to Austin, Texas, adding to a handful of Silicon Valley companies that have relocated there.
- U.S.-traded shares of Chubb CB 0.91% added 0.8% premarket. The Switzerland-based insurer agreed to buy some of Cigna CI 0.72% ‘s Asia-Pacific operations as part of its strategy to expand in the region.
- Accolade ACCD -0.42% shares dropped 7.3% premarket after the employee health benefits company reported a loss for the recent quarter.
Chart of the Day
- China Evergrande Group EGRNF 5.53% ‘s path to the brink of default was littered with financial red flags. The property giant carried heavy debt loads, grew at breakneck pace and made it hard for outsiders to understand the company’s financial situation.
Write to James Willhite at [email protected]
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