Below are the most important news, trends and analyzes that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Stock futures are lower as Wall Street is forecast for a lost week
A view of the New York Stock Exchange building on Wall Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City.
Roy Rochlin | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
US futures were lower on Friday, a day after the S&P 500 made a slight gain to halt the two-session loss. S&P 500 and Dow futures fell about 0.4%, while Nasdaq futures fell about 0.25%. The top three indices go red on Friday for the week. The 30-share Dow is winning a three-day losing streak and paced the worst week since June. The Nasdaq, which gained 0.1% on Thursday, is going through its worst week since May. Factors weighing on Wall Street this week include concerns about a possible reduction in the federal reserve for asset purchases and the trajectory of the economic recovery in the face of Covid cases. The yield on the 10-year benchmark treasury note stood at 1.235% on Friday morning, almost a basis point.
2. Joaquin Duato will replace Alex Gorsky as CEO of J&J
Joaquin Duato, Executive Vice President and World President of Pharmaceuticals at Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday, January 31, 2017.
Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Joaquin Duato will replace Alex Gorsky as CEO of Johnson & Johnson, starting Jan. 3, the pharmaceutical giant announced Thursday. Shares of the Dow component were slightly lower in the premature trading on Friday as investors processed the news. Duato, currently vice chairman of the executive committee, will also be elevated to the J&J board of directors. Gorsky, chairman and CEO since 2012, will move on to executive chairman. Gorsky has led the company while facing a number of legal issues related to its talc-based baby powder and other products, as well as the opioid crisis.
3. China passes a major data protection law
National flag of China
Russell Monk | The Image Bank Getty Images
The Chinese legislature on Friday passed a major data protection law, according to state media, a development that follows Beijing’s toughest regulatory approach for technology companies in recent weeks. Although a final version of the Personal Information Protection Act has not been published, it is said to set stricter rules on how companies collect and store users ’personal information. According to Reuters, the law will take effect on November 1 and is likely to add to the compliance rules that companies operating in the country must follow.
Investors have taken a more skeptical stance on Chinese companies since the government crackdown on giant Didi Global and other industries intensified in early July. On Thursday, star money manager Cathie Wood told CNBC that she believes these recent events, particularly the involvement of the online education industry, “will spring up our memories for a long time to come.” He added: “This could happen to any industry.”
4. Tesla plans to build a prototype humanoid robot, says Elon Musk
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, said Thursday that the electric vehicle maker plans to build a humanoid robot, called the Tesla Bot, that aims to eliminate “dangerous, repetitive and boring tasks.” Musk, who made the announcement during Tesla’s AI Day, said the company “will probably have a prototype next year that looks like this,” while standing next to a human actor in the ‘stage carrying a white body resembling a robot. Musk has been known to make predictions about upcoming Tesla products or initiatives that do not end up materializing in their initial timeline, if any. Shares of Tesla rose about 0.5% in trading on Friday ahead of the market. In its AI Day, Tesla also deployed plans to use a custom chip in its data centers.
5. NATO will try to speed up evacuations from Afghanistan, according to the official
A brochure photo obtained from Twitter via @Bw_Einsatz on August 17, 2021 shows the evacuees from Afghanistan when they arrive at an Airbus A400 transport aircraft of the German Air Force Luftwaffe in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Marc Tennessohn | via Reuters