1. Dow set to build on two-session rally and back-to-back monthly gains
Dow futures were pointing to an over 200-point advance at Wednesday's open as investors remained focused on the reopening of the U.S. economy despite civil unrest across the nation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday logged a second straight day of gains, after last month's 4.2% rally and April's 11% surge.
As of Tuesday's close, the Dow and S&P 500 were both up more than 40% from their coronavirus lows on March 23. The Nasdaq was up nearly 45% over the same period and extended its year-to-date gain to 7%. The S&P 500 and the Dow cut their 2020 losses to about 4.6% and 9.8%, respectively.
2. Private payrolls down another 2.76 million in May, ADP says
American companies reduced their work forces by another 2.76 million positions in May as the coronavirus pandemic continued to slice through the U.S. economy, according to a report Wednesday from ADP. Economists had expected nearly 8.8 million private-sector job losses. May's count also marked a precipitous change from April's 19.6 million plunge, revised from the initially reported decline of 20.2 million. On Friday, the government's monthly employment numbers are expected to show nonfarm payroll losses of 8.3 million in May and a national unemployment rate of 19.5% Weekly jobless claims are out Thursday.
As for the economy in the second quarter, the Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDPNow tracker estimates an almost 53% contraction. The GDPNow reading undergoes regular revisions as more economic data comes in, and it's generally more accurate as the end of the quarter approaches, which in this case is June 30.
3. Fauci worries about how long a potential coronavirus vaccine might last
White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci is expressing concern about the level of protection a potential Covid-19 vaccine may deliver. If this coronavirus acts like others, a vaccine won't likely provide a long duration of immunity, Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, said during a Tuesday evening interview with the editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former FDA commissioner, told CNBC on Wednesday that a coronavirus vaccine will probably need to be administered every year, like the seasonal flu vaccine and unlike smallpox or polio vaccines, which provide immunity for life.
4. Nationwide protests calmer as Trump presses law-and-order message
Protesters around the nation defied curfews in many cities to protest the May 25 death of George Floyd, but the demonstrations against police brutality were calmer than the destructive unrest in recent days. Authorities in New York City and Washington, D.C., ordered people off streets at 8 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET, respectively, even before it got dark out. President Donald Trump pressed his call for law and order, tweeting around midnight that New York City police are not being allowed to "perform their MAGIC" to bring the protests under control.
On Tuesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo criticized New York Mayor Bill de Blasio for not deploying enough police officers stop the violence. Cuomo said he offered to send the National Guard to the city but de Blasio declined.
5. Biden slams Trump over protests and coronavirus, moves closer to clinching Democratic nomination
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, slammed Trump's handling of the nationwide protests and the coronavirus pandemic. In his first formal address in public since sheltering in March, Biden said that as president he would do his job and "take responsibility." He added during Tuesday's speech in Philadelphia: "I won't blame others. I'll never forget that the job isn't about me." Biden also got a boost in Tuesday's primaries, putting him 70 delegates away from clinching the nomination.
Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, who has a long history of racist remarks, lost his long-held House seat in Tuesday's GOP primary. Last year, King was stripped of his committee assignments because of comments he made about white nationalism. In the general election, Republican Iowa state Sen. Randy Feenstra will face J.D. Scholten, a paralegal and retired professional baseball player, who ran unopposed in Tuesday's Democratic primary.
— The Associated Press and NBC News contributed to this report. Follow all the developments on Wall Street in real-time with CNBC's live markets blog. Get the latest on the pandemic with our coronavirus blog.
