What Will the Stock Market Do Today? 3 Big Stories to Watch.

Advertisement

Good morning and welcome to the stock market today! After the weekend, investors are turning their attention back to Wall Street, and as a result, back to the Federal Reserve. Later this week, we will get an update on central bank policy. With inflation fears dominating market chatter, investors will want to know what is coming from the Fed, and what it will mean for consumer prices. Beyond that, what will the stock market do today?

Street sign for Wall Street pictured in front of several American flags representing american stocks
Source: Shutterstock
  • The S&P 500 is down 0.19%
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.41%
  • The Nasdaq Composite is up 0.13%

So what else will the stock market do today? Here are some of the top stories.

What Will the Stock Market Do Today? Praise Musk.

Elon Musk and Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) are mending their relationship it seems, and yet another tweet is causing movement in Bitcoin prices. This time, Musk has outlined a path for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Bitcoin to get back together. With that in mind, crypto supporters have taken BTC back to the $40,000 level.

So what do you need to know? As CoinTelegraph reported, Magda Wierzycka, the CEO of financial services company Sygnia, voiced some beef with Musk. Wierzycka accused Musk of committing a pump and dump, manipulating Bitcoin prices.

In response, Musk tweeted that Tesla sold less than 10% of its BTC holdings to prove its liquidity. More importantly, he said that once miners prove at least 50% of their energy consumption comes from renewable sources, Tesla would resume Bitcoin transactions. Because the initial move by Tesla to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment was heralded as a victory for digital currencies, his latest tweet has the market excited. Beyond Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD) and Dogecoin (CCC:DOGE-USD) are gaining on Monday.

Bonus Story: Beyond Musk, things are looking up for Bitcoin. Miners around the world voted to approve the Taproot upgrade, the first for BTC in four years. As a result, Bitcoin will feature more private and more efficient transactions, as well as better smart contract capabilities. This upgrade, as CNBC reports, could bring greater utility to Bitcoin.

Take a Shot of Novavax Stock

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) became a big winner this morning, announcing its Covid-19 vaccine has an overall efficacy rate of 90.4%. In moderate and severe cases, this rate jumps up to 100%.

This announcement comes from the Prevent-19 trial, a Phase 3 study of its two-dose Covid-19 vaccine. Novavax enrolled 29,960 participants across the United States and Mexico to evaluate its shot. The company says its diverse trial also helped highlight the vaccine’s efficacy across viral variants.

So what comes next? Novavax announced it intends to file for regulatory authorizations in the third quarter. By that point, it hopes to be able to produce 100 million doses per month. Despite the promising efficacy results, investors have bid up NVAX stock less than 10% in pre-market trading. That may be a reflection of uncertainty over what comes next. Ocugen (NASDAQ:OCGN), another underdog in the Covid-19 vaccine race, saw shares tank last week. Guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over emergency-use authorizations has put more pressure on the process.

But Novavax continues to push ahead, highlighting promising data around variants of interest.

Investors should also note that Novavax may be eyeing a more global distribution network. Over the weekend, the U.S. and other countries present at G7 pledged to donate 1 billion doses around the world. So far, member countries have promised 500 million doses of the shot from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX). However, Reuters highlights that the lower-income countries in question may need as many doses as 5 billion or 6 billion.

Novavax has previously struggled with supply-chain woes and a delayed regulatory path, but today, the company has good news for investors. Now the waiting game really begins.

SEC Eyes Climate, Cybersecurity Proposals

On Friday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission revealed its rulemaking plan, providing investors a timeline for formal regulatory plans. Based on this guide, the SEC intends to propose corporate disclosures on climate change risks, board diversity and workforces in October. It is also eyeing disclosure policies on cybersecurity risks.

So why does this matter? Although it provides a timeline, it is not exactly surprising. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing trends have been gaining traction in recent years, and major players like BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) continue to get on board. But formalizing requirements around climate change risks and board diversity is still a key next step.

Investors should also note the potential for cybersecurity risk disclosures. In the wake of cyber attacks on the Colonial Pipeline operators and on JBS (OTCMKTS:JBSAY), all eyes have been on cybersecurity. As lawmakers talk about making ransom payments illegal, it will be interesting to see how market regulators proceed. According to Bloomberg, this guidance could include how companies should respond in the event of a cyber attack.

Between the lines: Based on this guideline, special purpose acquisition companies may be in the clear until the spring.

On the date of publication, Sarah Smith did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

Sarah Smith is the Editor of Today’s Market with InvestorPlace.com.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2021/06/what-will-the-stock-market-do-today-3-big-stories-musk-bitcoin-nvax-stock/.

©2024 InvestorPlace Media, LLC