Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:
- Dow, S&P 500 stand less than 1% from record closing highs
- Jeff Bezos to fly on first Blue Origin passenger spaceflight in July
- Elon Musk says Tesla officially canceled the Model S Plaid Plus
- AMC shares muted after skyrocketing in a wild trading week
- G-7 reaches global tax reform deal; Yellen talks Biden agenda, rates
1. Dow, S&P 500 stand less than 1% from record closing highs
U.S. stock futures were relatively flat Monday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq rallied on Friday. The government’s May employment report, while short of lofty expectations, was still solid and it boosted confidence in the economic comeback. All three major benchmarks were higher in the first trading week of June. The S&P 500 and the Dow finished less than 1% away for their May record closes. The Nasdaq saw the biggest Friday increase, with a nearly 1.5% advance. However, the tech-heavy index was still 2.3% shy of its late-April record close.
2. Jeff Bezos to fly on first Blue Origin passenger spaceflight in July
Jeff Bezos will fly on the first passenger flight of his space company Blue Origin. The company plans to launch the mission on July 20, the Amazon billionaire announced Monday. Bezos and his brother will join the winner of a public auction being held for one of the seats. Bidding on the auction stood at $2.8 million before Bezos announced he would be on board. Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk‘s SpaceX are two of the biggest commercial space companies.
3. Elon Musk says Tesla officially canceled the Model S Plaid Plus
Musk, also co-founder and CEO of Tesla, tweeted Sunday that the electric auto maker has canceled the most expensive variant of its flagship sedan, the $150,000 Model S Plaid Plus.
Tesla had promised a Plaid Plus version of its new Model S would give drivers 1,100 horsepower, 520 miles of range on a fully charged battery, and zero to 60 mph in less than two seconds. The remaining high-end version of the Model S Plaid at $119,900 features a 390-mile range battery, with 1,020 horsepower, and similar acceleration.
4. AMC shares muted after skyrocketing in a wild trading week
Shares of AMC Entertainment were muted in Monday’s premarket after in a wild week that saw the stock surge more than 80% despite declines Thursday and Friday. The movie theater chain last week sold addition shares in two tranches, raising some $817 million. CEO Adam Aron told YouTube host and AMC shareholder Trey Collins that the company wants to issue an additional 25 million shares.
The movie theater business, decimated by the Covid pandemic, showed more signs of getting back toward normal. “A Quiet Place Part II,” after a stellar opening weekend, fell 59% to $19.5 million. However, the Paramount sequel has so far made $88.6 million in the U.S. and Canada. “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” from Warner Bros. topped the weekend box office, debuting with a $24 million haul.
5. G-7 reaches global tax reform deal; Yellen talks Biden agenda, rates
The finance ministers of the most advanced economies, known as the Group of Seven, have backed a U.S. proposal that calls for corporations around the world to pay at least a 15% tax. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen tweeted that a “global minimum tax would end the race-to-the-bottom in corporate taxation, and ensure fairness for the middle class and working people in the U.S. and around the world.”
Yellen, former U.S. Federal Reserve chair, said in a Bloomberg interview that President Joe Biden‘s $4 trillion spending agenda would be positive for the country, even if it leads to a rise in interest rates. “If we ended up with a slightly higher interest rate environment it would actually be a plus for society’s point of view and the Fed’s point of view,” Yellen said.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow all the market action like a pro on CNBC Pro. Get the latest on the pandemic with CNBC’s coronavirus coverage.