Stocks were set for a slightly lower open as a the Delta variant of Covid-19 spreads in several countries and U.S. employment figures beat estimates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 10 points, or 0.04%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.01%.
The Delta variant of Covid-19 is spreading in some countries, causing some renewed concern about lockdowns. The spread is particularly fast in Australia, though not in the U.S.
Elsewhere, the U.S. private sector added 692,000 jobs in June, beating estimates of 550,000. Investors are hoping that supply chain constraints are not interrupting the economic recovery.
“Today, focus will be on any new developments regarding the latest uptick in COVID-19 cases, fueled by the Delta variant, as well as the first look at the June jobs data via the ADP Employment Report,” writes Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research.
Here are five stocks making moves in Wednesday’s premarket action:
Micron Technology stock (ticker: MU) rose 1.4% after getting upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets.
Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) stock fell 4.5% after getting downgraded to Underperform from Buy at Bank of America. This comes after the stock has gained more than 60% in the past month.
Seagate Technology (STX) stock rose 0.8% after getting upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
Masco (MAS) stock rose 2.5% after getting upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) stock fell 0.2% after reporting a profit of 5 cents a share—missing forecasts for 8 cents a share—on sales of $1.95 billion, above expectations for $1.87 billion.
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