Morning Brief

What to watch today: Stock futures sink after Dow breaks three-session win streak

BY THE NUMBERS

Dow futures were pointing to a decline at Thursday's open, trimming steeper overnight losses, after a top Chinese disease expert said the latest outbreak of coronavirus cases in Beijing is under control. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke a three-session winning streak as stocks that would benefit most from a U.S. economic reopening struggled throughout the day. (CNBC)

Before Wall Street opens Thursday, the Labor Department is out at 8:30 a.m. ET with its weekly look at initial jobless claims. Economists expect that 1.3 million Americans filed first-time unemployment benefits last week. While that number would still be historically off the charts, it would be a continuation of the slowing pace of claims seen in recent weeks. (CNBC)

The Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index for June is also out at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect a minus 20 reading compared to the minus 43.1 in May. The Conference Board's latest index of leading economic indicators is out at 10 a.m. ET, with forecasts calling for a May gain of 2.4% following an April decline of 4.4%. (CNBC)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

Florida, Arizona, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas reported record spikes in coronavirus infections again this week as most states across America moved forward with reopening plans. In Oklahoma, where President Donald Trump plans to hold an indoor campaign rally on Saturday, the governor asked the campaign to move the rally to a bigger outdoor venue. (CNBC)

A coronavirus model, once cited by the White House, is projecting more than 200,000 Americans could die of Covid-19 by Oct. 1, an increase of 17% since last week's forecast. A total of over 117,700 people in the U.S. have died from the virus, by far the most of any nation and a quarter of all Covid-19 fatalities in the world. (CNBC)

Hong Kong Disneyland reopened Thursday for the first time since late January. The park reopened to a limited number of local visitors and with enhanced health measures. The theme park, which reported losses for at least the past three years, is jointly owned by Disney and the Hong Kong government. In the U.S., Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California are set to reopen next month. (Reuters)

Huawei is a national security risk to the U.S., and it's engaged in unacceptable acts like routing network information to the Chinese government, according to Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google. "There's no question that Huawei has engaged in some practices that are not acceptable in national security," Schmidt said in a documentary to be aired on BBC radio.

Ford's (F) answer to advanced driver-assist systems such as Tesla's (TSLA) Autopilot and General Motors' (GM) Super Cruise is launching as the automaker introduces important new or redesigned vehicles such as the all-electric Mustang Mach-E crossover. (CNBC)

FAA chief Steve Dickson acknowledged the agency and Boeing (BA) made mistakes in developing the 737 Max jet, but rejected senators' accusations the FAA was "stonewalling" investigations after two fatal crashes. The entire 737 Max fleet has been grounded since March 2019 following crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people. (Reuters)

Amazon (AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos is joining a list of tech leaders calling for their companies to commemorate Juneteenth, which celebrates Union Gen. Gordon Granger reading the Emancipation Proclamation to African Americans on June 19, 1865. In a memo to employees, Bezos encouraged them to cancel all meetings on Friday. (CNBC)

* Here's a running list of all the companies observing Juneteenth this year (CNBC)
* Google commits $175 million to Black businesses and promises to diversify leadership (CNBC)

Garrett Rolfe, a White fired Atlanta police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks, a Black man, last Friday in a Wendy's parking lot, has been charged with felony murder, according to prosecutors. The charges came as nationwide protests against police brutality and racism were sparked by the killing of George Floyd by a White officer in Minneapolis last month. (CNBC)

Facebook (FB) will now allow the public to track exactly how much U.S. senatorial and congressional candidates are spending on political ads on the company's social networks. These new political ad trackers come one day after the company announced that it will now let users opt out of seeing political ads. (CNBC)

Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to agree to trade policies that would help with his re-election effort, according to NBC News reporting on a new book by former national security advisor John Bolton. NBC News obtained a copy of Bolton's book in advance of its planned release on Tuesday.

STOCKS TO WATCH

Kroger (KR) reported quarterly earnings of $1.22 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 a share, with revenue above estimates as well. Kroger said it expects to exceed the outlook it issued April 1.

Carnival (CCL) reported a preliminary quarterly loss of $3.30 per share, wider than the anticipated loss of $1.56 per share. Carnival's preliminary revenue figure is also below current consensus. Carnival said it expects a net loss for the second half of this year, but is seeing growing demand for 2021 bookings.

AMC Entertainment (AMC) creditors are resisting the movie theater operator's debt restructuring proposal, according to The Wall Street Journal. The plan would give private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners a top-ranking claim on the company's assets.

Hertz Global (HTZ) suspended its plan to sell $500 million in shares, after the Securities and Exchange Commission said it planned to review the offering. A bankruptcy judge had approved the idea last week, though Hertz had warned the shares could potentially become worthless in a bankruptcy proceeding.

Glass Lewis joined rival proxy firm ISS in recommending against the re-election of Robyn Denholm as Tesla board chairwoman. Glass Lewis is concerned about an arrangement in which CEO Elon Musk is personally paying for directors and officers liability insurance.

BP (BP) raised $12 billion in new debt, according to a report in the Financial Times. The energy producer had announced a $17.5 billion write-off in the value of its assets earlier this week, after slashing its long term oil and gas price forecasts.

T-Mobile US (TMUS) will close the $1.4 billion deal to sell its Boost Mobile unit to Dish Network (DISH) on July 1. The sale of Boost Mobile was required as part of the Justice Department's approval of T-Mobile's Sprint acquisition. Separately, the wireless carrier issued an improved outlook for its current quarter performance.

Google's planned acquisition of Fitbit (FIT) is under scrutiny by Australian regulators, who are expressing concern that the deal may hurt competition in the digital advertising and health markets. Australia is the first country where competition concerns have been expressed about the $2.1 billion transaction.

Spotify (SPOT) has struck a deal with Kim Kardashian West for a criminal justice podcast, according to The Wall Street Journal. Kardashian West will co-produce and co-host the podcast with TV producer Lori Rothschild Ansaldi.

WATERCOOLER

After days of tension, Major League Baseball is close to restoring its season. Commissioner Rod Manfred met privately with MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark earlier this week to discuss the possibilities of resuming operations, which are still on hiatus due to Covid-19. (CNBC)