Big banks to kick off Q2 earnings season
U.S. stock futures are pointing to a slightly positive open on Wednesday as Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) prepares to formally usher in the first-quarter earnings season, along with Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM).
By 5:40 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures moved up 18 points, or 0.05% to 33,588. S&P 500 futures rose 5.37 points, or 0.13% to 4,138.12 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures gained 24.75 points, or 14,000.50.
Crude future were also higher, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbing $1.09, or 1.81% to $61.27 a barrel. International Brent crude futures were up $1.15, or 1.81% to $64.82 a barrel.
Coinbase shares to start trading today
Coinbase, the biggest U.S. cryptocurrency platform, will make its highly-anticipated market debut on Wednesday afternoon. The company intends to list its shares on the Nasdaq stock market under the symbol “COIN” through a direct listing.
In a direct listing, Coinbase won’t raise any extra capital or issue any new shares in its debut, and it will forgo underwriters. Instead, it will offer its shares directly to the public.
The Nasdaq gave Coinbase shares a reference price of $250 each late Tuesday. Based on all its outstanding shares, the reference price would value Coinbase at $65 billion.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, rose 3% to $64,549.28 ahead of Coinbase IPO. Smaller rival Ethereum ticked up 9% to $2383.17.
J&J delays its Covid-19 vaccine rollout in Europe
Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) has halted its coronavirus vaccine rollout in Europe after U.S. federal health agencies urged for a pause following reports of blood clots.
According to a statement released by J&J, the company is currently reviewing the blood clot cases with European health agencies.
“We have been reviewing these cases with European health authorities. We have made the decision to proactively delay the rollout of our vaccine in Europe,” the drugmaker said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a joint statement on Tuesday they are investigating the jab after six women, between the ages of 18 and 48, developed a rare blood disorder.
