What to watch today: Dow set to jump after economic data, ahead of infrastructure meeting

BY THE NUMBERS

Dow futures rose after of a slew of economic data before the bell and renewed hopes for an infrastructure deal at a White House meeting later Thursday. The market's comeback rally took a pause Wednesday, though the Nasdaq managed to eke out another record close, and it was set to rise Thursday. With a broad group of stocks jumping in premarket trading, the S&P 500 was also set to open at new highs. The Dow was still climbing out of last week's hole. Ahead of Thursday's session, it remained 2.6% away from its latest record close in early May. (CNBC)

The 10-year Treasury yield ticked lower Thursday, trading just under 1.5%, as investors to sifted through three government reports released one hour before Wall Street's opening bell. Initial jobless claims totaled 411,000 for last week, higher than estimates but down from the prior's week's upwardly revised 418,000. Durable goods orders in May increased 2.3%, slightly lower than forecasts but better than April's modest decline. The final revision of first quarter GDP remained at 6.4% annual growth. (CNBC)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

A bipartisan group of senators is seeking President Joe Biden's support for a $953 billion infrastructure plan at Thursday's meeting. Administration officials and Democratic leaders cast the proposal as a positive development. The president's latest offer was a $1.7 trillion package. With Republicans opposed to Biden's proposed corporate tax rate increase, the bipartisan group is looking at other ways to raise revenue. (AP)

Andreessen Horowitz announced a new $2.2 billion cryptocurrency-focused fund Thursday. The Silicon Valley venture capital firm, founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, launched its first crypto fund three years ago, during what's now known as "crypto winter." That year, the value of bitcoin cratered roughly 80% from the highs in 2017. The latest fund also comes at another bearish moment for bitcoin. (CNBC)

* Why crash of crypto token that burned Mark Cuban may not foretell bitcoin plunge (CNBC)

Shares of Eli Lilly rose 8% in Thursday's premarket after the U.S. drugmaker said it will file a marketing application later this year for its experimental Alzheimer's treatment, under the FDA's accelerated approval pathway. Earlier this month, three members of a key FDA advisory panel resigned over the agency's controversial decision to approve Biogen's new Alzheimer's drug. (Reuters)

A study in England looking at persistent Covid symptoms suggests that around 2 million people in the country may have had the condition known as "long Covid." The study is part of Imperial College London's REACT research which is tracking the virus in England. (CNBC)

* Delta Covid variant has a new mutation called 'delta plus': Here's what you need to know (CNBC)

The Teamsters will vote Thursday on a resolution to scale up efforts to organize Amazon (AMZN) workers. The e-commerce giant has long been the target of major labor unions seeking to organize warehouse and delivery workers. Amazon in April defeated a high-stakes union campaign at a big warehouse in Alabama. (CNBC)

STOCKS TO WATCH

Accenture (ACN) beat estimates by 17 cents a share, with quarterly profit of $2.40 per share. Revenue topped Street forecasts as well. Accenture saw increasing demand for digital transformation services, with more companies moving to adapt to a hybrid work model. Accenture also raised its full-year forecast, and its stock jumped 4.3% in premarket trading.

Rite Aid (RAD) reported quarterly earnings of 38 cents per share, 16 cents a share above estimates. Revenue came in slightly short of Wall Street forecasts, however, and shares of the drugstore chain fell 6% in the premarket.

Darden Restaurants (DRI), parent of Olive Garden and other restaurant chains, earned $2.03 per share for its latest quarter, compared to a $1.79 a share consensus estimate. Darden's same-restaurant sales surge 90.4% compared to the mid-pandemic year-ago quarter. Shares were flat in Thursday's premarket.

KB Home (KBH)reported quarterly earnings of $1.50 per share, 18 cents a share above estimates. The home builder's revenue missed Wall Street forecasts, however, despite a selling price increase of 13% and a 145% surge in new orders. KB Home shares lost 4% premarket action.

Visa (V) struck a deal to buy European banking platform Tink for about $2.2 billion. The move to acquire the financial data sharing company comes after Visa terminated its planned $5.3 billion acquisition of Plaid following a government lawsuit. Visa shares rose modestly in the premarket.

Comcast (CMCSA), parent of NBCUniversal and CNBC, is mulling various ways to dominate video streaming, according to The Wall Street Journal. The paper said CEO Brian Roberts is mulling ideas like a tie-up with ViacomCBS (VIAC) or an acquisition of Roku (ROKU). Comcast told CNBC the story is "pure speculation." The stock added 1.6% in the premarket.

Some Dunkin' locations have dropped Beyond Meat's (BYND) "Beyond Sausage" breakfast sausage, according to a J.P. Morgan analyst, and a Goldman analyst said a wrap featuring the sausage is likely to suffer the same fate. Dunkin' told CNBC it continues to have a strong relationship with Beyond Meat and continues to explore new plant-based menu items. Beyond Meat fell 1.3% in the premarket.

Steelcase (SCS) surged 5.2% in premarket trading after it reported a smaller-than-expected loss for its latest quarter. The office furniture maker's revenue also beat Wall Street estimates. The company said revenue will improve on a sequential basis as more workers return to their offices. The stock rose 4.5% in the premarket.

WATERCOOLER

Conan O'Brien's farewell to late-night TV has reached its finale. His show "Conan" has been chockablock with his famous friends and staff members trotting out fan-favorite characters in recent weeks. The last episode, set to air Thursday night, will feature Jack Black and surprise guests. (WSJ)