CNBC
U.S. stock futures fell Monday after the Dow closed at another record high Friday. The 30-stock average finished above $34,000 for the first time ever Thursday. The S&P 500 also notched two straight record closes. The Nasdaq rose slightly Friday, finishing just 0.3% shy of its February closing record. Wall Street wrapped up another winning week with the three major benchmarks all gaining more than 1% last week. (CNBC)
* 10-year Treasury yield remains under 1.6%, last month's run of 14-month highs (CNBC)
Dow stock Coca-Cola rose modestly in the premarket after the beverage giant Monday morning reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue. Coca-Cola said demand in the first quarter was unchanged from last year as North America and western Europe take longer to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic. (CNBC)
* IBM, United Airlines set to report quarterly earnings after today's closing bell (CNBC)
* Today's biggest analyst calls of the day: Netflix, Snap, Corning, Vizio, Alphabet (CNBC Pro)
Bitcoin dropped to close to $52,000 on Sunday morning, days after reaching an all-time high near $65,000 in a wild weekend of trading. Bitcoin was up modestly to around $56,000 early Monday. But that's down about 13% from last week's record. (CNBC)
A leading Chinese central banker called bitcoin an "investment alternative," a significant shift in Beijing's tone after a crackdown on cryptocurrency issuance and trading nearly four years ago. The comments came Sunday from Li Bo, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, during a panel hosted by CNBC in China.
* China may test its digital currency with foreign visitors at 2022 Beijing Olympics (CNBC)
IN THE NEWS TODAY
GameStop (GME) rose 8% to around $167 per share in premarket trading after the video-game retailer said Monday that CEO George Sherman will step down. The board is looking for a successor. It's the biggest shakeup since investor Ryan Cohen, co-founder of online pet supplier Chewy, joined GameStop's board in January. (CNBC)
Keith Gill, known as "Roaring Kitty" and credited as an inspiration for the Reddit-fueled trading frenzy in GameStop, exercised options Friday, giving him 50,000 more shares at a strike price of just $12. If he had sold the options at Friday's price, he could have made over $7 million. Gill also bought 50,000 more GameStop shares, bringing his total investment to 200,000 shares worth more than $30 million. (CNBC)
Police investigating Saturday night's crash of a 2019 Tesla Model S in Spring, Texas, just north of Houston, said it appears that no one was in the driver's seat when the vehicle slammed into a tree and burst into flames, killing the two men inside. Police told the New York Times that minutes before the crash, the wives of the men heard them say they wanted to go for a drive and talked about the car's Autopilot feature. Shares of Tesla fell roughly 1.5% in Monday's premarket. (CNBC)
Shares of Peloton dropped 7% in Monday's premarket after the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Saturday that consumers should stop using the Peloton Tread+ treadmill if small children or pets are around. One month ago, Peloton disclosed an accident involving the treadmill that resulted in the death of a child. Peloton called the CPSC's advisory "inaccurate and misleading," insisting its treadmills are safe when all safety recommendations are followed. (CNBC)
Sources told Recode that Facebook (FB) is planning to announce a series of products, some of which won't appear for some time, under the umbrella of "social audio" on Monday. They include Facebook's take on Clubhouse, the audio-only social network that grew rapidly last year, as well a push into podcast discovery and distribution, aided by Spotify (SPOT).
* Facebook calls for data portability laws as it expands the types of info users can transfer to other services (CNBC)
Half of all U.S. adults have received at least one Covid vaccine dose, according to CDC data. In the U.S., the number of daily new Covid cases remains high, around summer surge levels. Monday marks President Joe Biden's deadline for all states to open up Covid vaccines to all U.S. adults. (CNBC)
* United adds summer flights to Iceland, Greece and Croatia in hopes vaccinations spur travel rebound (CNBC)
White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday he thinks the U.S. as soon as Friday will likely resume use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine with a warning or restriction attached. Health regulators asked states last week to pause J&J's single-dose shot after reports of six cases of rare but severe blood clotting issues. (CNBC)
Attorneys in the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, charged with killing George Floyd are set to make their closing arguments Monday, each side seeking to distill three weeks of testimony to persuade jurors to deliver their view of the right verdict. (AP)
* House lifting is big business following a record year of storms (CNBC)
STOCKS TO WATCH
Coinbase (COIN) was down 2% in the premarket, with two notable transactions involving the stock in the news. Cathie Wood's ARK funds bought more shares on Friday, according to her firm's daily trade summary, while regulatory filings show that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong sold about $292 million in shares on Coinbase's first day of trading.
Harley-Davidson (HOG) best estimates with quarterly earnings. Revenue was essentially in line with forecasts. The company also raised full-year guidance for motorcycle revenue and profit margins. Separately, Harley said it would appeal a European Union ruling that could subject it to a massive tariff increase for European sales. Shares gained 8.4% in premarket action.
M&T Bank (MTB) exceeded estimates on quarterly earnings and revenue. The bank noted improvements in its residential mortgage banking and trust businesses, among other factors. The stock rose 1.4% in Monday's premarket trading.
Herman Miller (MLHR) tumbled 12% in premarket action after announcing a deal to buy furniture and accessories company Knoll (KNL) for $1.8 billion in cash and stock. The deal is worth $25.06 per share, compared to Knoll's Friday closing price of $17.23. Knoll's shares surged more than 28% in the premarket.
Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss has dropped out of a bid for Tribune Publishing (TPCO) , according to The Wall Street Journal. That leaves Choice Hotels Chairman Stewart Bainum searching for a new partner in his bid for the newspaper publisher, as he tries to outbid hedge fund Alden Capital for Tribune. Shares of Tribune were little changed.
CONTRIBUTORS
Matthew J. Belvedere
@Matt_Belvedere
Peter Schacknow
@peterschack
