All eyes on June nonfarm payrolls
U.S. stock futures were trading mostly cautiously in pre-market trading for Friday as trades wait for the most closely watched economic data of the month.
As of 5:25 a.m. ET, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a gain of 17.25 points, or 0.12% to 14,565.75. Futures tied to the blue-chip Dow and the S&P 500 were flat.
The main focus today will be the June jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor. The report is an important indicator of the health of the U.S. economy and could influence the Federal Reserve’s policy tapering and rate-hike plans.
Economists estimate the economy gained 700,000 new jobs in June compared with 559,000 jobs in May. The unemployment rate is expected to have dipped to 5.7% last month from 5.8% in May.
Robinhood files for Nasdaq IPO
Robinhood has filed an S-1 prospectus for an IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and it plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol “HOOD.”
The popular stock trading appsaid in the filing that it intends to sell $100 million of stock through its IPO, although that figure is likely a placeholder and could change.
According to the filing, Robinhood had a net income of $7.45 million and revenue of $959 million last year, up from a net loss of $107 million and revenue $278 million in 2019.
The company, which has been accused of operational and regulatory lapses in recent months, is reportedly targeting an IPO valuation of over $40 billion.
Virgin Galactic rockets 29% as Branson announces trip to space
Meanwhile, shares of Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE) in premarket trading Friday after founder Sir Richard Branson challenged rival Jeff Bezos yesterday, tweeting that he too will fly to Space as soon as July 11.
“I’ve always been a dreamer. My mum taught me to never give up and to reach for the stars. On July 11, it’s time to turn that dream into a reality aboard the next @VirginGalatic spaceflight,” Branson tweeted.
Virgin Galactic said Branson will be part of a “remarkable crew of mission specialists” that will fly to space aboard the company’s suborbital rocket-powered spacecraft, VSS Unity. The trip is scheduled to take place take as early as July 11, “pending weather and technical checks.”
Last month, Blue Origin founder Bezos announced he would go to space on July 20.
As of this writing, Virgin Galactic stock was up $12.71, or 29.43% to $55.90 per share.
