Five things you need to know before the market opens on Tuesday June 6.
1. -- Stock Futures Lower As Growth Concerns Test S&P 500 Bull Move
U.S. equity futures nudged lower Tuesday, while the dollar held gains on foreign exchange markets and Treasury yields dipped, as investors tracked weakness in the domestic economy that could test the S&P 500's move into bull market territory.
The benchmark slipped 0.2% yesterday, following a solid start to the session, but remains within touching distancer of a nine-month high and could pierce the 20% gain from its October lows to officially transition into an official bull market later in the week.
Softening U.S. economic data, however, as well as the narrow market breadth that has defined the S&P 500's year-to-date gains, may keep investors cautious over the coming sessions.
The closely-watched ISM Services survey, which tracks monthly activity across the economies most-important sector, fell to 50.3% points in May, just ahead of the 50 point mark that separates growth from contraction.
And while slowing inflation data and a dovish Federal Reserve are providing further evidence for a pause in rate hikes next week in Washington, central banks around the world looks set to continue their policy tightening.
The Reserve Bank of Australia surprised markets overnight with its third consecutive 25 basis point increase, taking its base lending rate to 4.1%, citing elevated inflation and persistent wage pressures.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currency peers, was marked 0.04% higher in overnight trading at 104.039, while the yen added 0.25% to trade at 139.19.
Benchmark 2-year Treasury note yields eased 3 basis points to 4.454% while 10-year notes slipped to 3.662%.
Oil prices were in retreat, as well, following yesterday's surge on the back of Saudi Arabia's voluntary production cuts as part of a broader OPEC effort to stabilize global crude markets, with WTI futures for July delivery marked $1.67 lower at $70.48 per barrel.
On Wall Street, futures tied to the S&P 500 were indicating a 3 point opening bell dip while those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were priced for a 26 point move to the downside.
The tech-focused Nasdaq is set to open around 1.5 points higher amid the pullback in Treasury bond yields.
European stocks nudged lower in the early Tuesday session, with the Stoxx 600 falling 0.06% following data showing flat retail sales over the month of April mixed with an easing in consumer inflation expectations from an ECB survey conducted in May. Britain's FTSE 100, meanwhile, fell 0.4% in early London dealing amid the retreat in energy prices.
Overnight in Asia, the region-wide MSCI ex-Japan index fell 0.16% into the close of trading, while the Nikkei 225 added 0.9% to close at a fresh July 1990 high of 323,506.78 points.
2. -- Unity Software Extends Gains After Apple VR Headset Shoutout
Unity Software (U) shares extended gains in pre-market trading, following on from its best single-day session in seven months, following the group's linkage with Apple's AAPL new mixed reality headsets.
Unity Software, which works with video game developers, will help Apple bring its various apps into the new Vison Pro headsets, which the tech giant will market at a base price of $3,499 each.
This partnership speaks volumes about Unity’s existing role in the XR industry," said D.A. Davidson analyst Tom Forte. "Unity has a dominant hold of the VR market, with over 60% of VR applications created using Unity Engine today."
"We believe this robust ecosystem, combined with the partnership with Apple, provides the necessary support and resources to compel new developers to use Unity for new app development," he added.
Unity Software shares, which surged 17.16% yesterday, were marked 4.9% higher in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $38.10 each.
3. -- GE HealthCare Technologies Slides As Parent GE Plans $2 Billion Stake Sale
GE HealthCare Technologies shares moved lower in pre-market trading after its parent company, General Electric (GE), said it would sell a $2 billion stake in order to buyback some of its debt.
GE said it would offer around 25 million in GE HealthCare common stock to affiliates for Morgan Stanley (MS) in exchange for GE debt.
GE HealthCare, which was spun out of General Electric in early January and trades on the Nasdaq, has forecast adjusted earnings in the region of $3.60 to $3.75 per share for its 2023 fiscal year, while reaffirming organic revenue growth rates of between 5% and 7% for its medical equipment.
GE HealthCare shares were marked 3% lower in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $78.08 each. GE shares, meanwhile, nudged 0.16% higher to $104.27 each.
4. -- Bitcoin Prices Hold As Crypto Market Shakes From SEC Allegations Against Binance
Bitcoin prices stabilized in overnight trading, but remain within touching distance of a two-and-a-half month low, following a damning set of allegations made by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against the world's biggest crypto exchange.
The SEC said yesterday that Binance, as well as its CEO Changpeng Zhao, were part of a "web of deception" that skirted U.S. laws, comingled client funds and mislead investors and regulators.
The regulator also added 12 digital coins that it deems now as "unregistered securities", expanding its purview to around $115 billion with of cryptocurrency assets as it tightens it grip on the murky global market.
Bitcoin prices were last seen trading 0.01% higher on the session at $25,753.20 each, marking its year-to-date gain at around 55%
Coinbase Global (COIN), the biggest U.S.-listed crypto trading platform, was marked 0.96% higher in pre-market trading at $59.27 each, after falling more than 9% yesterday, while shares in Robinhood Markets (HOOD) fell another 1.11% to $9.03 each.
5. -- Bed, Bath & Beyond Jumps On Report of Buybuy Baby Sale Talks
Bed, Bath & Beyond (BBBY) shares jumped higher in pre-market trading following a report that suggested the bankrupt home retailer is in talks to sell its lucrative Buybuy Baby chain.
The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday that Bed, Bath & Beyond, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April, is negotiation with Go Global Retail, a retail investment firm, to sell the baby and pre-natal focused portion of the business. It's also in talks with Overstock.com (OSTK) with respect to the intellectual property behind the Bed, Bath & Beyond name.
Bed Bath & Beyond listed assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion each in its Chapter 11 filing with the bankruptcy court for the District of New Jersey on April 24, adding it had secured around $240 million in debtor-in-possession funding from Sixth Sixth Specialty Lending.
Debtor-in-possession, or DIP, funding, sits atop all other claims against the business and grants the lender a key role in the bankruptcy proceedings.
Bed Bath & Beyond shares were marked 3.5% higher in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of 25 cents each.
