Stock futures fall modestly ahead of testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell; Bitcoin falls to below $32,000; Torchlight Energy extends record gains.
Here are five things you must know for Tuesday, June 22:
1. Stock Futures Slip Ahead of Testimony From Fed's Powell
Stock futures traded modestly lower Tuesday ahead of testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who is expected to tell Congress the economy has shown "sustained improvement" but that the recovery has accelerated inflation.
Contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34 points, S&P 500 futures were down 5 points and futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 27 points.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note steadied early Tuesday at 1.499%.
“Widespread vaccinations have joined unprecedented monetary and fiscal policy actions in providing strong support to the recovery. Indicators of economic activity and employment have continued to strengthen, and real GDP this year appears to be on track to post its fastest rate of increase in decades,” Powell said in written comments ahead of a House panel hearing Tuesday.
“Much of this rapid growth reflects the continued bounce back in activity from depressed levels,” the Fed chief added.
Powell said inflation has increased “notably” in recent months but reiterated he expects rising price pressures to only be temporary and to eventually ease back to the central bank's 2% target.
Powell’s remarks follow a meeting of the Fed’s policymaking committee last week, when officials signaled they could boost interest rates and begin tapering asset purchases sooner than expected.
The Fed's hawkish tilt led to a selloff on Wall Street. But stocks rebounded Monday -the S&P 500 gained 1.4%- to recoup much of last week's losses.
2. Tuesday's Calendar: Powell Testimony, Existing Home Sales
Theeconomic calendarin the U.S. Tuesday includes Existing Home Sales for May at 10 a.m. ET.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will appear before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis at 2 p.m.
Korn Ferry (KFY) -Get Report, the management consulting firm, is expected to post quarterly earnings on Tuesday.
3. Bitcoin Falls to Below $32,000
Bitcoin fell to below $32,000 early Tuesday, raising the prospects for a steeper selloff if the world's largest cryptocurrency breaches $30,000.
“We’re most likely going to continue to trade within the
$30,000 to $40,000 range and, hopefully, $30,000 will hold as
the low of the year,” Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of crypto
lender Nexo in London, told Boomberg. “If not, we should revisit $25,000 and even $20,000 before the next leg up.”
Early Tuesday, Bitcoin was at $31,351, down 5.51%. It and other digital currencies have been subject to an intensifying crackdown in China.
Bitcoin dropped to a two-week low Monday following a report that said the Agricultural Bank of China, one of the country’s biggest banks, published a statement outlining aban that prohibits customers from doing any business with cryptocurrencies.
4. Torchlight Energy Extends Gains
Torchlight Energy Resources (TRCH) -Get Report extended gains Tuesday after jumping to a record high in the previous session as the oil and natural gas developer was touted on retail trading forums as a potential short squeeze.
The stock rose 13.41% to $11.25 in premarket trading Tuesday. It rose more than 58% on Monday and has gained 1,311% so far in 2021.
Torchlight said Monday it agreed to extend to June 30 the date by which it must close its merger with Canada's Metamaterial.
5. Delta Plans to Hire 1,000 More Pilots by Next Summer
Delta Air Lines (DAL) -Get Report plans to hire more than 1,000 pilots by next summer as the travel industry recovers, according to reports from Bloomberg and Reuters.
Domestic leisure travel will return to pre-pandemic volumes
this month, said John Laughter, Delta’s operations chief, in a
memo to flight-operations employees on Monday, Bloomberg reported. He added that travel restrictions
across the Atlantic should ease in the second half of the year.
Bloomberg noted Delta had 12,940 pilots at the end of last year, meaning the new additions would increase its number of pilots by about 8%.
Delta also said it expects to report a profit in June.
Delta shares rose slightly early Tuesday to $45.79.