Here are the key news, trends, and analysis investors need to start their trading day:
1. Dow futures falling as history shows a rough remainder of September
The Wall St. sign can be seen near the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City on May 4, 2021.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
US stock futures fell on Friday, marking an important day, September 17, which historically marked a difficult period for the market in an already traditionally difficult month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell on Thursday but ended well above the session lows. The S&P 500 was also down, while the Nasdaq bucked the trend and rose slightly. Despite the September fear, all three benchmarks tracked weekly gains. Ahead of Friday’s opening, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq weren’t too far off their recent record highs – about 2.5%, 1.4% and 1.3%, respectively.
2. Options, futures expirations could add volatility at the Friday close
Traders will work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York on Monday, August 23, 2021.
Michael Nagel | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Along with seasonal factors stacked against Wall Street, it’s Friday, the “fourfold witchcraft,” the simultaneous expiration of stock options, index options, stock futures, and index futures. The Federal Reserve is holding its two-day monetary policy meeting in September next week, which is already making investors nervous this month to read the tea leaves if central bankers could start scaling back their massive Covid-era bond purchases. At the close of trading on Thursday, the Dow was down 1.7% this month, while the S&P 500 was down 1.1% and the Nasdaq was down 0.5%. However, all three were still way up for the year.
3. Fed chief calls for review of central bank investment rules
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell arrives for a Senate Banking Committee hearing in Washington, DC on Thursday, July 15, 2021.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Fed chairman Jerome Powell has called for a review of the central bank’s ethics rules on fair financial activity after it was revealed that several senior Fed officials had significant investments and others had multi-million dollar stock deals in 2020 around the crumbling Support economy during the pandemic. News of the Powell investigation followed letters from Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., To the presidents of the Fed’s regional banks calling for stricter ethics.
4. FDA Vaccine Advisory Board meets on Pfizer Covid Boosters
Nurse Samantha Reidy gives Alan Kramer, 74, a cancer patient, his Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 booster syringe on August 24, 2021 at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut.
Joseph Precious | AFP | Getty Images
An important part of President Joe Biden’s plan to fight Covid could be at risk as an FDA vaccine advisory committee meets on Friday to debate and vote on Pfizer’s request to offer booster vaccinations to the public. The meeting comes as some scientists, including at least two from the FDA, said they weren’t entirely convinced that every American who received the Pfizer vaccine with two doses currently needs a third. Friday’s vote could halt the Biden government’s previously announced plan to start distributing boosters next week.
5. Biden holds climate conference ahead of the UN summit
United States President Joe Biden makes remarks and attends the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate Session 5: The Economic Opportunities of Climate Action at the White House in Washington, DC on April 23, 2021.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
On Friday, Biden calls heads of state and government to a discussion on efforts to combat climate change in order to provide impetus in the run-up to an international summit on global warming later this year. Biden has repeatedly highlighted climate change as one of the top national and global priorities in the past few weeks following devastating floods and forest fires in the United States. 12th UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, a success.
– Reuters contributed to this report. Follow the whole market like a pro on CNBC Pro. Get the latest on the pandemic with coronavirus coverage from CNBC.
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