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What to Watch Today: Wall Street Set to Open Steady After Another S&P 500 Record

BY THE NUMBERS

U.S. stock futures were flat Monday after the S&P 500 eked out another record close Friday. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% for the week, notching a three-week winning streak. The Nasdaq's gain Friday put the tech-heavy index within 0.5% of its record close in late April. The Nasdaq soared nearly 1.9% for the week, logging its fourth straight weekly gain. The Dow's slight advance Friday inched the 30-stock average less than 1% closer to last month's record close. However, the Dow dropped 0.8%, breaking a two-week winning streak. (CNBC)

The 10-year Treasury yield was steady early Monday, firmly below 1.5%, ahead of Federal Reserve's June meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. Inflation will be front and center on investors' minds after last week's hotter-than-expected consumer price index reading for May. The Fed has been promising to keep its extraordinary Covid-era easy money measures in place, massive asset buying and near zero interest rates, claiming any price pressures will be transitory. (CNBC)

* Paul Tudor Jones says 'go all in on the inflation trades' if Fed keeps ignoring higher prices (CNBC)
* For CNBC Pro subscribers: Tudor Jones likes bitcoin, calls it a great portfolio diversifier
* Bank of America's Moynihan says the Fed can pull back on policy help (CNBC)
* BofA CEO says consumer spending is 20% higher this year than it was in 2019 (CNBC)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

Bitcoin popped back above $39,000 on Monday, one day after Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the electric auto maker could accept bitcoin transactions again in future upon "confirmation of reasonable (~50%) clean energy usage by miners with positive future trend." Tesla (TSLA) halted car purchases with bitcoin in mid-May, citing concerns over the climate impact of cryptocurrency mining. (CNBC)

Lordstown Motors (RIDE) said Monday that CEO Steve Burns and Chief Financial Officer Julio Rodriguez have resigned, days after the electric truck maker warned it had "substantial doubt" about its ability to continue as a going concern in the next year. Lordstown plunged 12% in premarket trading after a volatile week that saw shares lose nearly 9% and 43% year-to-date as of Friday's close. (Reuters)

Biotech firm Novavax said Monday its Covid vaccine was shown to be safe and 90.4% effective overall in a phase three clinical trial of nearly 30,000 participants across the U.S. and Mexico. The two-dose vaccine was found to be 100% effective in preventing moderate and severe disease and 93% effective against some variants. Novavax plans to file for authorization with the FDA in the third quarter. (CNBC)

AstraZeneca's (AZN) Covid vaccine has a favorable risk/reward profile for all age groups and particularly for those 60 years and older, according to the head of the European Medicines Agency's Covid-19 task force. Marco Cavaleri said his quote in an Italian newspaper saying the vaccine should not be given to those over 60 was not interpreted correctly. (Reuters)

Boris Johnson is expected to announce a delay to the next phase of England's reopening of up to four weeks Monday, due to a surge in the delta variant of Covid first discovered in India. Rules on the use of face masks, limiting the number of people who can meeting indoors and out, and shutting nightclubs and similar venues were due to be lifted a week from today. (CNBC)

* U.S. on the verge of 600,000 total deaths from Covid (USA Today)

President Joe Biden is set to attend a NATO summit in the Belgium capital Brussels on Monday, aiming to consult European allies on efforts to counter provocative actions by China and Russia. Biden will also highlight the United States' commitment to the 30-nation alliance, which was frequently maligned by former President Donald Trump. (AP)

Biden's trip to Europe started with a G-7 meeting, which ended Sunday with promises to enact measures on Covid vaccines and a global corporate tax as well calls for China "to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms." Biden is set to sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday. (AP)

* 'The selfie summit': Why some economists and activists are disappointed with the G-7 (CNBC)

For the first time in 12 years, Israelis woke up to a new prime minister after 49-year-old Naftali Bennett late Sunday secured the backing of parliament and ousted longtime leader Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu, the longest to hold office, will now serve as the opposition leader. The 71-year-old has made clear he has no intention of exiting the political stage. (AP)

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.a) is considering a sale of shale assets in Texas, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters. Such a could be worth more than $10 billion. Shares gained 2% in premarket trading. CNBC has independently confirmed that a sale is not imminent, but ongoing talks with a buyer or potentially multiple buyers are ongoing.

* Mall owner Washington Prime files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (Reuters)

The video game industry's annual trade show went virtual this year, giving publishers a new format to show off upcoming titles. The E3 gaming expo kicked off on Saturday and runs until Tuesday, when Nintendo is expected to showcase its new releases. Microsoft (MSFT), Ubisoft and Square Enix were among the big publishers that presented over the weekend. (CNBC)

* Microsoft employees slept in data centers during pandemic lockdown, executive says (CNBC)

Jeff Bezos' space venture Blue Origin auctioned off a seat on its upcoming first crewed spaceflight on Saturday for $28 million. The winning bidder, whose name wasn't released, will fly to the edge of space with the Amazon founder and his brother Mark on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket scheduled to launch on July 20. (CNBC)

* Amazon details new warehouse robots, ‘Ernie’ and ‘Bert’ (CNBC)

STOCKS TO WATCH

NextGen Acquisition (NGAC), a special purpose acquisition company, is in advanced talks to take Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit public, according to Sky News. Sky said a deal valuing Virgin Orbit at about $3 billion could be announced within the coming weeks. NextGen shares gained 1.9% in the premarket.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is collaborating with clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company iTeos Therapeutics (ITOS) to develop and commercialize EOS-448, a monoclonal antibody in early-stage development as a possible cancer treatment. iTeos soared 60.4% in the premarket.

Phillips (PHG) shares slid 4.3% in premarket action after saying it would recall up to 4 million CPAP machines due to potential toxicity risks. The foam used in the sleep apnea treatment devices could degrade and potentially become toxic. The Dutch medical equipment company is the largest producer of CPAP machines.

Qualcomm (QCOM) is prepared to invest in UK chipmaker Arm if its $40 billion deal to be acquired by Nvidia (NVDA) is blocked by regulators, according to the Telegraph newspaper quoting CEO Cristiano Amon.

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