Good morning and welcome to the stock market today! The weekly initial jobless claims support set a new pandemic-era low, although the major indices are in the red to start Thursday. So what will the stock market do today?
- The S&P 500 is down 0.31%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.07%
- The Nasdaq Composite is down 0.66%
So what will the stock market do today? Here are some of the top stories.
What Will the Stock Market Do Today? Talk Vaccines.
Yesterday, President Joe Biden announced his support for waiving intellectual property protections on Covid-19 vaccines. Vaccine stocks all fell on the news.
So what is the story here? The United States has already issued emergency-use authorizations for vaccines from Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). It has also entered large-scale supply deals with those companies, as well as with others whose vaccines have not yet received the green light.
With conversations about global vaccine supply equity growing, the pressure has been on Biden to support this patent waiver. Proponents say it will help speed up the rollout and ensure that countries around the world have equitable access. Pharmaceutical companies, unsurprisingly, do not support the move. These companies, as well as other critics of the move, say the waiver could be a “dangerous” precedent and limit future investment in the pharmaceutical space.
So what comes next? U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai says negotiations over the waiver will take time, meaning any potential impact will not be immediate.
Another story to watch? Retail investor favorite Ocugen (NASDAQ:OCGN) is also having a rough day. Ahead of its earnings report tomorrow, reports of insider selling have rocked OCGN stock.
Space Stocks Are Getting Ready to Blast Off
Commercial space flight is coming, and a trio of billionaires is leading the way.
As Miriam Kramer wrote this morning for Axios, Blue Origin just made waves with its latest news. The suborbital space flight company of Jeff Bezos is planning to take its first paying customers in July 2021. This comes just months after Bezos announced he was planning to step back from Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) to focus on his other projects, including Blue Origin.
So why does this matter for investors? Blue Origin is not public, and it has not revealed how much a seat on its suborbital spacecraft will cost. However, it does have a public rival in Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE). Billionaire Richard Branson is behind the Virgin endeavor, and he too is eyeing a commercial launch. He will take his first trip to the skies later this year, and as Reuters highlighted, Virgin plans to launch commercial flights in 2022.
Virgin Galactic has been an intriguing stock for investors, but it has been a bumpy ride. Recent reports of insider selling rocked investors, as have issues with its test flights. News that Blue Origin will beat it to the skies is also troubling, but not entirely unexpected.
With the space race heating up, a variety of other space stocks could get some fuel from increased attention and investment. Until you can bet on Blue Origin directly, take a ride with some of these out-of-this-world names.
What Else We’re Watching
- Yesterday, Federal Judge Dabney Friedrich struck down the national eviction moratorium, which was set to expire at the end of June 2021. The Department of Justice plans to appeal the move, citing the potential for millions of Americans to lose their homes. One estimate suggests that 1 in 5 renters are currently struggling to make payments.
- International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) announced on Thursday it had produced the first 2-nanometer chips. These thinner chips typically boost performance and consume less power, as Axios reported.
- Galaxy Digital (OTCMKTS:BRPHF) announced that it had acquired BitGo, the first $1 billion deal for the crypto sector.
- Krispy Kreme has filed for an initial public offering. The donut chain went private five years ago, but is now looking to tap into a historic stock market boom.
On the date of publication, Sarah Smith did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Sarah Smith is the Editor of Today’s Market with InvestorPlace.com.
