5 things to know before the stock market opens on Thursday

Here are the top news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:

US stock futures were basically flat on Thursday, as the major release of inflation data for May, scheduled for Friday, moves more into focus. Traders are also watching The latest interest rate decision from the European Central Bank Thursday. Wall Street closed generally lower the day before. The Standard & Poor’s 500 It fell 1.08% on Wednesday, while Dow Jones Industrial Average And the Nasdaq Composite It lost 0.81% and 0.73%, respectively. The only sector in the S&P 500 that ended Wednesday was energy, closing at its highest point in nearly eight years.

All three major US stock indexes broke their two-day winning streak on Wednesday, as investors continued to monitor the bond market and look for new information about the path of economic growth. The Dow is now basically flat for the week and about 11% below its record high. The S&P 500 is up 0.18% in the week so far and 14.6% from its peak in early January. The Nasdaq is trading strongly in the green for the week, up 0.61%. However, the tech-heavy index is still entrenched in a bear market, having fallen more than 25% from its all-time high in November.

return on standard 10-year treasury bonds It remained above 3% Thursday morning, after jumping above that psychological level Wednesday. US government bond prices, which move inversely to yields, trended lower this week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury ended last week at 2.941% and as recently as 2.71% in May. Equity investors have been keeping a close eye on the rise in bond yields in 2022, as higher interest rates typically pressure growth-oriented technology stocks that have significant cash flows expected in the coming years.

Oil prices were basically flat on Thursday. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude was down about 0.2% to around $121.90 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was trading at $123.48 a barrel, close to where it finished on Wednesday when both WTI and Brent crude settled at their highest levels in two months. The recent rise in oil prices came as the reopening of Covid in China is expected to stimulate more demand while supply concerns persist elsewhere.

shares Tesla It rose 3.5% in pre-market trading Thursday, also rose UBS has upgraded the electric car maker to a purchase. Tesla stock has struggled this year, down more than 30% to date as of Wednesday’s close. Despite this sharp decline, UBS wrote to clients that it was time to get bold with the stock, adding that the company’s future remained very bright. Tesla’s pre-market gain comes after shares rose 1.25% on Wednesday in another low day for the S&P 500 Index. Tesla has the sixth largest weight in the S&P 500.

targeting On Thursday, it said its board of directors approved a dividend increase. Quarterly payments will increase 20% to $1.08 per common share, up from their previous level of 90 cents. The Minneapolis-based retailer is a member of S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, consisting of companies that have increased their annual dividends over the past 25 years; Target said 2022 will now be the 51st consecutive year that this has been done. Thursday’s announcement from Target comes two days after the company It warned that its financial profit in the second quarter will shrink It has taken strict steps to get rid of surplus inventory. Target stocks, which are down more than 30% year-to-date, are up 0.76% in pre-market trading.

apple It intends to use a wholly owned subsidiary to check credit and extend short-term installment loans to users of its new Buy Now, Pay Later service. The iPhone maker announced the new offering on Monday as its developer conference kicks off; It will be called Apple Pay Later and will be available later this year, when the new iOS 16 iPhone program rolls out.

Additional details about Apple Pay Later reflect the tech giant’s ambitions in the fintech space. While Goldman Sachs is involved as the technology source for loans provided through Apple Pay Later, it’s worth noting that Apple actively maintains credit decisions within the company and uses its balance sheet to issue loans. Buy now, pay later has grown increasingly popular in recent years. Startups like Affirm have made waves big enough to found fintech companies like parent Square roadblock Make deals to buy existing players, while PayPal He launched his own show.

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