1. Dow set to surge after an influx of jobs data
Dow futures pointed to an over 400 point gain at Thursday's open after a double dose of jobs data.
The government said Thursday morning that a much better-than-expected 4.8 million nonfarm jobs were added in June while the nation's unemployment rate fell to 11.1%. The monthly report came one day early because the stock market is closed Friday in observance of the Fourth of July. The government's normal Thursday look at weekly jobless claims showed a higher-than-expected 1.43 million new filings for unemployment benefits last week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell modestly on the first day of the third quarter while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq moved higher. The Nasdaq also saw a record high close. Ahead of Thursday trading, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq were all on track for a positive week, with the Nasdaq's weekly gain on pace for its best in nearly two months.
Looking at two stocks making gains in Thursday's premarket:Â Tesla rose more than 8% after the electric auto maker said it delivered a much-better-than-expected 90,650 vehicles in the second quarter. Rising shares of Dow-stock Boeing helped fuel premarket gains after the FAA and the aircraft maker said they completed recertification test flights on the grounded 737 Max jets.
2. New daily U.S. coronavirus cases hit a record above 50,000
New daily coronavirus cases in the U.S. hit another record, topping 50,000 on Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Many states also continued to see unprecedented spikes Wednesday, including Arizona, Texas and California.
The surge in Arizona came on the day that Vice President Mike Pence visited the state. He urged people in Arizona to wear masks. He wore a mask himself as he descended the steps of Air Force Two in Phoenix. Pence joins CNBC for a live interview on "Squawk on the Street" at 10 a.m. ET.
3. McDonald's and Apple adjust their reopening plans
McDonald's is pausing its U.S. reopening plans for 21 days. About 1,000 out of McDonald's 14,000 U.S. locations have reopened with reduced seating capacity as of mid June. Franchisees that have already reopened their dining rooms and are not facing any rollbacks from local officials can decide if they want to keep them open.
Apple is closing 30 additional stores in the U.S., bringing the total number of reclosures in America to 77. Stores in Alabama, California, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada and Oklahoma are closed as of Thursday. Other stores in Florida, Mississippi, Texas and Utah were closed Wednesday. Apple has 271 stores in the U.S.
4. Congress votes to extend small business Paycheck Protection Program
The House on Wednesday passed a bill to extend the deadline to apply for forgivable small business aid through a key coronavirus relief program. The legislation, which the Senate approved Tuesday, extends the deadline to request Paycheck Protection Program loans to Aug. 8 from June 30. The measure heads to President Donald Trump for his signature.
With Democrats on Capitol Hill pushing for a new round of coronavirus stimulus, Trump said Wednesday he supports another more direct payments to Americans, claiming he wants to give out more money than Democrats have already proposed. The president did not, however, seem keen on continuing enhanced unemployment benefits; the $600-per-week federal payments on top of what states offer expires at the end of the month.
5. Four Big Tech CEOs agree to testify on Capitol Hill
CEOs from American tech giants — Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Alphabet's Google — have agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee. The hearing would mark the first time all four executives testified together in front of Congress, though it's not yet clear if the event would take place in person or virtually given the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Tech journalist Kara Swisher reported the hearing would occur in late July, though the Judiciary spokesperson could not yet share details on the date or format. While Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Google's Sundar Pichai and Apple's Tim Cook have testified in Congress Amazon's Jeff Bezos has never done so.
— Reuters and The Associated Press 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.
