U.S. stocks set for muted open
Wall Street futures were little changed before the opening bell Tuesday, as traders returned from the Labor Day holiday weekend.
By 5:05 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow added 11 points, or 0.03% to 35364. S&P 500 futures were little changed while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures gained 15.75 points, or 0.10% to 15,667.25.
A report released by the U.S. Labor Department on Friday showed that the economy added just 235,000 jobs in August, a figure that missed economists’ estimates and also below the nearly 1 million jobs gained in July.
However, the rate of unemployment dropped to a pandemic low of 5.2% in August from 5.4% in July. Economists expected the U.S. economy to have gained 720,000 jobs in August.
El Salvador makes bitcoin legal tender
El Salvador has today become the first country to adopt bitcoin as an official currency, a move that will see the small Central American nation set up kiosks and ATMs to allow its citizens to convert the cryptocurrency into U.S. dollars and then withdraw those dollars for cash.
Under the plan, the El Salvador government will run the bitcoin exchanges through its Chivo digital wallet, and there will be no commission fees.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele revealed early Monday that the country bought its first 200 bitcoins and its brokers would be buying more of the virtual currency.
“A Salvadoran abroad will be able to send money instantly to their relative in El Salvador,” Bukele said in a tweet.
Boeing under pressure as Ryanair terminates talks Boeing 737 Max order
Boeing (NYSE: BA) stock was slightly lower in the pre-market trading session Tuesday following Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY)’s decision to end talks on a huge order of 737 Max 10 jets due to differences over pricing.
Ryanair, a European-based budget airline, announced on Monday it has ended talks with Boeing related to potential new order worth billions of dollars for the 737 Max jets after failing to reach an agreement on price with the airplane manufacturer.
“We are disappointed we couldn’t reach an agreement with Boeing on a MAX10 order. However, Boeing has a more optimistic outlook on aircraft pricing than we do, and we have a disciplined track record of not paying high prices for aircraft,” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said in a press release.
The carrier made the announcement following months of delayed discussions for the biggest model of the 737 Max when Ryanair re-ordered a smaller version late last year.
As of this writing, Boeing stock was marked $1.11, or 0.51% lower to $217.06 per share.
