Finance

Zoom founder Eric Yuan poses in front of the Nasdaq building as the screen shows the logo of the video-conferencing software company Zoom after the opening bell ceremony on April 18, 2019 in New York City.
Kena Betancur | Getty Images

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Zoom — The video-conferencing software company saw its shares tumble more than 15% after its quarterly report showed slowing revenue growth amid tough year-over-year comparisons as offices reopen and live events return. Zoom CFO told CNBC there are headwinds in its mass markets, namely individual consumers and small businesses. The drop in shares came even as Zoom’s earnings beat estimates and the company raised full-year guidance.

Virgin Galactic — Virgin Galactic shares gained 8.3% after Jefferies initiated coverage of the space travel stock with a buy rating. In Jefferies’ survey of individuals with over $1 million in net worth, a third of respondents expressed interest in going to space, with 20% willing to spend 5% of their net worth to do so.
Chico’s FAS — Chico’s shares sunk nearly 17% despite the apparel retailer’s better-than-expected quarterly earnings. The company reported an unexpected quarterly profit of 21 cents per share, compared to Refinitiv consensus estimates of an 8 cents per share loss. Revenue also beat Wall Street expectations.
Designer Brands — Shares of Designer Brands, which owns Designer Shoe Warehouse, fell more than 9% despite an earnings beat. The retailer reported quarterly earnings of 56 cents per share, compared to a 24 cents a share Refinitiv consensus estimate. Revenue also topped analyst forecasts.
NetEase — Chinese gaming giant NetEase’s stock gained 4.8% after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter earnings, with revenue in line with forecasts. The stock fell Monday, when China’s National Press and Publication Administration published a new rule limiting kids’ online video game time to just three hours per week to safeguard their physical and mental health.
Textron — Shares of Textron jumped 1.1% after Cowen upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform, citing strong demand for business jets and a compelling opportunity with electric aircrafts. The firm also hiked its price target on the stock to $95 per share from $75, implying 32% upside from Textron’s Monday closing price.

Occidental Petroleum — Shares of the oil exploration company rose 1.4% after Citi initiated coverage of the stock with a buy rating. The investment firm said in a note to clients that the stock offered more upside than some of its energy peers.
Support.com — Support.com shares retreated 12.3% after running up 38% the prior trading session fueled by retail investors coordinating in Reddit forums. The stock has a high level of short interest, which could explain why retail traders coalesced around the small-cap name.
— CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel, Yun Li and Jesse Pound contributed reporting

Become a smarter investor with CNBC Pro. Get stock picks, analyst calls, exclusive interviews and access to CNBC TV. Sign up to start a free trial today

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

Federal unemployment programs in place since March 2020 will end this weekend in all states.
Almost 9 million Americans will lose benefits entirely, and another 3 million or so will see aid reduced by $300 a week, according to the Century Foundation.

OLIVIER DOULIERY | AFP | Getty Images

Millions of people are poised to lose their unemployment benefits this weekend, when federal pandemic-era policies will end after almost 18 months.
Congress authorized a historic expansion of the country’s safety net for jobless individuals in March 2020 to manage the fallout of the Covid-fueled economic downturn.

Lawmakers twice extended those temporary expansions, which increased the number of people eligible for unemployment benefits and raised the amount of weekly aid for recipients.
Absent of congressional action, that aid will lapse after Saturday or Sunday, depending on state administrative rules. Lawmakers seem unlikely to extend the policies for a third time given improvements in the economy and labor market in recent months.
More from Personal Finance:These tips can help unemployed parents refresh their job skillsEvictions are still banned in these statesKrispy Kreme doubles its free doughnut incentive for vaccinations
If that happens, about 8.8 million Americans will lose their benefits entirely, according to an estimate from The Century Foundation, a progressive think tank.
Another 3 million or so will see their aid reduced by $300 a week, the group projects. The average person would get about $321 a week without the supplement, or about 38% of their pre-layoff wage, according to Labor Department data.

“We’re cutting benefits off when many, many individuals are still relying on them,” according to Till von Wachter, an economics professor at the University of California Los Angeles and director of the California Policy Lab.
“This is sort of a recurring problem in American recessions. We ask politicians to come up with benefit programs, and they set end and start dates,” he added. “They’re set in advance and have nothing to do with how the economy is.”

The White House supports ending the $300 weekly bonus payments as scheduled. Officials point to an an average of 832,000 new jobs added per month over the last three months, and a U.S. unemployment rate that’s fallen to 5.4% as evidence of a rebounding economy.
However, the Biden administration urged states with high unemployment rates to continue paying benefits to certain groups past this weekend’s cutoff, using federal funds allocated to states by the American Rescue Plan. Those groups include the long-term unemployed and workers like independent contractors who don’t qualify for traditional state aid.
It’s unclear whether states will do so, though. The U.S. Department of Labor isn’t tracking those decisions because use of the funds isn’t within its oversight, according to a spokeswoman.
Already, 26 states moved to end most or all federal benefits in June or July, earlier than their official Labor Day cutoff.

We’re cutting benefits off when many, many individuals are still relying on them.

Till von Wachter
director of the California Policy Lab

Their governors, all Republican except for Louisiana’s, said enhanced benefits were keeping people from looking for work and holding back the economic recovery by exacerbating labor shortages.
More generous benefits have also led criminals to target the unemployment system with greater frequency.
“Between massive fraud and worker shortages, expanded unemployment insurance benefits have arguably been the federal government’s most flawed — and damaging — economic policy enacted in response to Covid-19,” Rachel Greszler, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a right-leaning think tank, wrote in July.
However, available evidence suggests benefits haven’t played a big role in hiring challenges.
In states that cut federal benefits in June, about 7 in 8 jobless workers receiving benefits hadn’t found work by early August, according to a recent study. That suggests withdrawing benefits didn’t lead to a big uptick in employment and caused households to cut $2 billion in spending from the local economy, the study found.

Decreases in spending may have an adverse impact on jobs, if consumers pull back on dining out and other activities to save money.
Lawmakers must weigh these net employment effects when making policy decisions, according to Betsey Stevenson, a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan. Relative to unemployment benefits, the question becomes: Does the loss of household income that or the job-disincentive effect of enhanced benefits matter more?
“People need the money more than we need to get the incentives right [at the moment],” said Stevenson, citing available research.
Economists suggest that factors beyond unemployment benefits are likely playing a larger role in employers’ difficulty finding workers.
For example, Covid health risks are still present, exacerbated by the highly contagious delta variant, and childcare-related road blocks haven’t fully receded.

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

Take a look at some of the biggest movers in the premarket:
Zoom Video (ZM) – Zoom reported quarterly earnings of $1.36 per share, 20 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also beat forecasts and topped $1 billion for the first time. Growth rates have slowed from the meteoric levels seen as the pandemic began in 2020. Its shares plunged 11.3% in the premarket.

Robinhood (HOOD) – Robinhood fell another 2.8% in premarket trading, following a 6.9% Monday tumble. The trading platform operator saw its stock pressured after CNBC reported that PayPal (PYPL) was exploring the launch of its own stock trading platform, as well as SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s comment that a ban of payment for order flow – which constitutes the bulk of Robinhood’s revenue – was “on the table.”
Designer Brands (DBI) – The footwear retailer formerly known as DSW reported quarterly earnings of 56 cents per share, compared to a 24 cents a share consensus estimate. Revenue was well above Wall Street forecasts. Comparable-store sales surged 84.9%, more than the 62.2% increase forecast by analysts surveyed by StreetAccount. Its shares surged 7.5% in premarket trading.
Chico’s FAS (CHS) – The apparel retailer’s shares rallied 4.5% after the company reported an unexpected quarterly profit. Chico’s earned 21 cents per share, compared to consensus estimates of an 8 cents per share loss. Revenue was also well above estimates. Chico’s said the results represented the company’s best second quarter in eight years.
Textron (TXT) – Textron added 1.8% in premarket action after Cowen upgraded the stock to “outperform” from “market perform,” based in part on robust business jet demand as well as an “underappreciated” opportunity in the electric helicopter market.
Uber Technologies (UBER) – Russian technology company Yandex (YNDX) announced a deal to buy out Uber’s interest in several food delivery and ride-hailing joint ventures for $1 billion. Uber was little changed in the premarket, but Yandex gained 1.2%.

Virgin Galactic (SPCE) – Virgin Galactic gained 3.3% in the premarket after Jefferies initiated coverage on the space travel company with a “buy” rating. Jefferies notes an expected ramping up in capacity by Virgin Galactic as well as rapidly growing demand.
Square (SQ) – Square plans to offer a new paid version of its invoicing software called Invoices Plus, according to announcements shared with some sellers and seen by TechCrunch. The new service will offer some advanced features that had been tested over the past year in limited trials.
Support.com (SPRT) – Support.com remains on watch, after soaring 38% Monday, tripling over the past week and bringing its year-to-date gain to more than 1,500%. The technical support company’s stock is among heavily shorted stocks that have been targeted by investors on social media. The stock added another 4.4% in premarket trading.
Moderna (MRNA) – Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine produced more than twice the number of antibodies as the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association. Moderna shares had been under pressure following the suspension of 1.63 million doses in Japan on contamination concerns, and a temporary hold on two vaccine lots in the Gunma and Okinawa prefectures which were ultimately cleared for distribution. Moderna rose 1.4% in the premarket.
NetEase (NTES) – NetEase reported better-than-expected earnings for its latest quarter, with the China-based online gaming company seeing revenue in line with forecasts. The stock had fallen 3.4% Monday amid new restrictions on online gaming imposed by the Chinese government. NetEase gained 2.1% in the premarket.

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

The official non-manufacturing PMI for August came in at 47.5, the lowest reading since the height of the pandemic in China in early 2020.
The official manufacturing PMI for August was 50.1, slightly below the 50.2 expected by analysts polled by Reuters.
China has lifted the majority of travel restrictions and apartment community lockdowns implemented in late July and early August to contain the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.

A Meituan food courier delivers a bag of food to a resident of a neighborhood under lockdown due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak on August 11, 2021, in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province of China.
Yang Huafeng | China News Service | Getty Images

BEIJING — China’s services industry contracted in August for the first time since the height of the pandemic early last year, according to official data released Tuesday.
The National Bureau of Statistics’ monthly survey of businesses found the non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 47.5 in August, down from 53.3 in July.

The latest reading also marked the first drop below the 50 line since February 2020 when China shut down more than half the country in an effort to contain the coronavirus. Readings below 50 indicate contraction in business activity from the prior month, while those above 50 reflect expansion.

This month’s drop in the services PMI comes as the spread of the highly infectious delta variant in late July and August prompted Beijing and many other major cities to announce travel restrictions and lockdowns on some apartment communities.
By last week, daily reports of new domestically transmitted cases had dwindled to zero and the National Health Commission said the risk of a nationwide outbreak had been contained.
The official manufacturing PMI showed businesses activity expanded for an 18th straight month in August, at 50.1. That was slightly below the 50.2 level forecast by a Reuters’ poll.
China was the first major economy to contain the coronavirus pandemic last year. However, retail sales have lagged the overall recovery, and came in below expectations in July amid uncertainty about new regulation and employment prospects.

Read more about China from CNBC Pro

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

A dicey situation reminiscent of the dot-com bubble may be unfolding on Wall Street.
According to BTIG’s Julian Emanuel, the market’s record price action is mimicking late 1999, and it could spark a 10% to 20% correction within the next month.

“Be very much aware of the fact that if and when it reverses, the consequences could be severe,” the firm’s chief equity and derivatives strategist told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Monday.
On Monday, the S&P 500 saw its 53rd record close of the year and tech-heavy Nasdaq saw its 32nd. Meanwhile, the Dow is a fraction of one percent away from its record high.
“We’re in a time where the impossible has really become commonplace,” said Emanuel. “If we had said inflation would be at 30 year highs and [10-year Treasury Note] yields would be at 1.3% while the S&P would be at this level a year ago, no one would have believed you, me or anyone else.”
Emanuel points out the record price momentum is so strong, it’s overshadowing serious near-term risks associated with surging Covid-19 delta variant cases, higher inflation and what’s next for Federal Reserve policy.
“The temptation may be to continue to go with it,” he said. “This is a time to retain emotional control.”

Stock picks and investing trends from CNBC Pro:

Emanuel believes euphoria could help drive the S&P 500 to 5,000, a more than 10% jump from Monday’s close. However, he warns the move would add more near-term danger into the market.
“What we don’t want is for people to get so overly committed in that race to 5,000 potentially that they become uncomfortable and overexposed to equities,” he added.
Emanuel’s pullback call, which dates to late Spring, is getting louder because he also sees the CBOE Volatility Index rising along with the S&P and Nasdaq.
“That’s usually foretold of a pullback. That’s what happened last September,” noted Emanuel. “The other thing that concerns us is this plunge in consumer confidence that we’ve seen.”
Emanuel, a long-term bull, suggests investors with a long time horizon should embrace market a setback.
“Be mentally prepared to buy down 10%, 15%, maybe even 20%, because the long-run trend is higher and pullbacks having been bought have been rewarded all along the line,” Emanuel said. “We all know that September has a record of being a difficult month to navigate that ultimately yields to the buying opportunity in October.”
Disclaimer More

Warren Buffett is showing his openness to investments that stray from the Berkshire conglomerate’s old economy core in order to adapt to the increasingly tech-driven economy.
Berkshire’s exposure to technology stocks has grown to 45% of its equity portfolio, thanks to its massive stake in Apple, worth more than $120 billion.
The conglomerate has also dipped into IPOs and pre-IPO investments.
Instead of deal-making, Berkshire has been focused on returning capital to shareholders.

Warren Buffett walks through the exhibit hall as shareholders gather to hear from the billionaire investor at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting in 2019.
Scott Morgan | Reuters

Before turning 91 on Monday, Warren Buffett has been taking steps to make sure that Berkshire Hathaway — and his eventual successor — will be better positioned to benefit from a technology-driven economy.
The conglomerate’s operating business is a patchwork of companies focused on the traditional backbone of the economy, from railroads, to batteries, insurance, home furnishing and retail. Because of the old economy orientation, Berkshire has missed out on the explosive growth seen in the Amazons of the world over the years. But the “Oracle of Omaha” is showing his openness to investments that stray from Berkshire’s old economy core to adapt to the new world.

Berkshire’s exposure to technology stocks has grown to 45% of its portfolio thanks to its massive stake in Apple, according to InsiderScore.com. Its Apple investment, first bought in 2016, has ballooned to over $120 billion to become its biggest equity holding by far. Ten years ago, Berkshire’s top equity holdings showed very little tech exposure other than IBM.
To bet on growth, Berkshire has dipped into initial public offerings and pre-IPO investments, something the legendary investor once mocked. It’s widely speculated that Buffett’s investment lieutenants Todd Combs and Ted Weschler orchestrated these bets that break with Berkshire tradition.

Arrows pointing outwards

“There has been a pretty significant shift in the investment portfolio. Now it’s really geared towards the new economy,” said James Shanahan, Berkshire analyst at Edward Jones. “He has given Todd Combs and Ted Weschler a lot more flexibility and opportunity to get their fingerprints on the business.”
Berkshire invested in Brazilian fintech StoneCo within days of its IPO in 2018, and the stake has grown to more than $700 million thanks to a doubling in share price since the market debut. During that year, Berkshire also bought a stake in India’s largest digital payments start-up, Paytm, which has filed for an IPO.
In the third quarter of 2020, the conglomerate bought $250 million worth of Snowflake stock at the IPO price and an additional 4.04 million shares from another stockholder at the debut price. In June 2021, Berkshire made a $500 million pre-IPO investment in the parent company of Nubank, a digital bank based in Brazil.

Buffett, the man who pioneered buy-and-hold investing, had been vocal about his distaste for buying companies around their market debut. Buffett previously compared buying hyped-up IPOs with trying to win lotteries, arguing they are not a sound basis for an investment. The last major IPO that Buffett bought before the recent spree was the Ford debut back in 1956.

Stock picks and investing trends from CNBC Pro:

“The equity portfolio today is more dynamic than it was 10 or 15 years ago with the Todds at the helm,” said Cathy Seifert, Berkshire analyst at CFRA Research. “They will certainly dip their toe into the water and nibble at some new economy stocks. Unless you have some exposure to this, it’s difficult to generate alpha, particularly due to the large-cap value-oriented bias they do tend to have.”
While increasing its tech exposure to about 45%, Berkshire exited some of its big financial bets recently, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and PNC Financial. The conglomerate still owns sizable stakes in American Express and Bank of America as of the end of June.

$100 billion question

For die-hard Buffett watchers, they have been asking the same question year after year — when is he going to finally pull off that “elephant-sized” acquisition? The answer might be disappointing to many, considering his disciplined value approach.
“I think what’s kept him from doing anything too aggressively is that he almost doesn’t want to have that last deal that he does — that he is going to be remembered for — be a disaster,” said Greggory Warren, Berkshire analyst at Morningstar. “He doesn’t want to hamstring the next guy running the show by acquiring something that maybe isn’t going to help him.”
At the end of June, Berkshire’s cash pile stood at $144 billion, still near a record despite the company’s massive buyback program.
For decades, companies used to throw themselves at Buffett, who was among the biggest whales with the most cash, along with private equity firms. As opposed to leveraged buyouts with quick turnovers though, Berkshire has always been a more permanent buyer that also gives companies the autonomy to run their business.
However, private equity has been on a tear in recent years with interest rates at record lows, and companies are also courted by a flood of new buyers from special purpose acquisition companies with possibly more attractive offers for going public.
Market valuations are near levels seen before the early 2000s dot-com bubble. Particularly, the utility and transmission segment that Berkshire wants to be a consolidator in has become very expensive as these stocks became the go-to names for yield-hungry investors, according to Morningstar’s Warren.
“The fact that Berkshire hasn’t done a blockbuster deal, I don’t think investors are going to hold him to that,” Seifert said. “I think they still trust his judgment and acumen particularly given where valuations are now.”

Record buybacks

Instead of deal-making, Berkshire has been focused on returning capital to shareholders. The company repurchased $6 billion of its own stock in the second quarter, bringing the six-month total to $12.6 billion. Berkshire bought a record $24.7 billion of its own stock last year.

Arrows pointing outwards

“It’s been a long time coming,” Warren said. “The only alternative for them if they don’t want the cash balance to keep growing is to continue to buy back stock. That’s probably the best option for excess cash in the near term until we have some sort of correction in the market.”
Thanks in part to the share repurchase, Berkshire’s class B stock has quickly wiped out the pandemic damage and bounced back to an all-time high. Shares have rallied about 23% in 2021.
Buffett started a buyback program in 2011 and has long preferred buying other companies’ stocks and businesses outright. In 1999 annual meeting, Buffett said he wouldn’t buy back Berkshire shares unless they are “fairly dramatically underpriced.”
In 2018, the company’s board announced a removal on its buyback limit to allow purchasing whenever it believes that the price “is below Berkshire’s intrinsic value.”
“I think he’s doing a good job of navigating and returning capital to shareholders. He understands that his legacy is going to be appraised not only on what he did the first 50 years but what he did the last five he’s in charge,” Warren said.

Enjoyed this article?For exclusive stock picks, investment ideas and CNBC global livestreamSign up for CNBC ProStart your free trial now

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

PayPal is exploring ways to let users trade individual stocks, according to two sources familiar with the plan.
As part of the expansion, according to one of the sources, the payment giant hired a brokerage industry veteran to lead “Invest at PayPal” — a previously unreported division of the payments giant.
The move comes amid a retail trading boom that brought millions of new investors into the stock market, along with more regulatory scrutiny for some brokerage firms.

A sign is posted outside of the PayPal headquarters in San Jose, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

PayPal is exploring a possible stock-trading platform.
After rolling out the ability to trade cryptocurrencies last year, the payments giant has been exploring ways to let users trade individual stocks, according to two sources familiar with the plans.

The San Jose, California-based company recently hired brokerage industry veteran Rich Hagen as part of the move, according to one of the sources. After leaving Ally Invest, Hagen is now the CEO of a previously unreported division of PayPal called Invest at PayPal, according to his LinkedIn page. Hagen was the co-founder of online brokerage TradeKing, which was bought by Ally Invest.

His current job description outlines PayPal’s efforts to “explore opportunities” in the consumer investment business. When reached for comment, PayPal pointed CNBC to CEO Dan Schulman’s comments at the company’s investor day in February, when he spoke about the long-term vision for the company and how it may include many more financial services, including “investment capabilities.”
PayPal’s move comes amid a retail trading renaissance. More than 10 million new individual investors have entered the market in the first half of this year, roughly matching last year’s record level, according to estimates from JMP Securities. A combination of stay-at-home orders during the pandemic, government stimulus checks and viral events like the rise of GameStop in January have spurred on new interest in the stock market.
Trading has become a booming business for the companies that offer it. PayPal rival Square offers stock and cryptocurrency trading through the Square Cash App, and its CFO has said the app drives engagement and revenue per user. Robinhood, which became a publicly traded company this summer, has seen explosive growth with more than 22.5 million customers and doubled revenue in the most recent quarter from a year ago.
In order to offer stock trading to customers, it’s possible PayPal will partner with or buy an existing broker-dealer. According to one source, PayPal has held already discussions with potential industry partners.

Still, one source familiar with the idea said it was unlikely that the trading service would roll out this year. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because PayPal’s plan was not public, and they were not authorized to share information about possible partnerships.

Shares of PayPal jumped more than 3% following the CNBC report, while Robinhood shares lost more than 3%.
If PayPal did look to get full approval as a brokerage firm alone, it would need to complete a new membership process through the industry’s main regulator, FINRA. That process could take more than eight months. PayPal has more than 400 million accounts worldwide.
A PayPal stock-trading launch would come at competitive time for the fintech industry. Square, PayPal, Robinhood and SoFi offer a list of overlapping products and describe the same mission of being a one-stop-shop for finance. Cryptocurrency and stock trading are seen as ways to keep consumers engaged on these payment platforms.
While helpful for user growth and revenue, the retail trading boom has also invited more regulatory scrutiny.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said last week it is stepping up its inquiry into “gamification” and how brokerages use technology to interact with their customers. The agency mentioned behavioral prompts used by online brokerages and investment advisors that may encourage investors to trade more stocks and other securities and take on more risks.

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

The bull sculpture representing the rise of the market by artist Reinhard Dachlauer is pictured in front of the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, on December 29, 2020.
Daniel Roland | AFP | Getty Images

Stock futures rose slightly in overnight trading on Monday as the S&P 500 looks to wrap up its seventh straight month of gains at a record high.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 40 points. S&P 500 futures edged up 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures were flat.

Zoom shares fell more than 11% in after-hours trading on Monday after the video-conferencing software company showed slowing revenue growth in the second quarter. The drop in shares came even as Zoom’s earnings beat estimates and the company raised full-year guidance as the pandemic took a turn for the worse.

Tuesday marks the last trading day of August, and major averages are poised to post solid gains. The S&P 500 is up 3% this month, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has climbed 4%, on pace to post its third winning month in a row. The blue-chip Dow is up a more modest 1.3%.
“Despite rising geopolitical risks, peak economic growth concerns, and the Federal Reserve moving closer to tapering its asset purchase program, the steady ascent of stocks continues,” Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at Truist, said in a note.

Stock picks and investing trends from CNBC Pro:

The S&P 500 managed to climb up a wall of worry to record highs without even a 5% pullback this year. The broad equity benchmark has rallied more than 20% in 2021 after notching its 53rd record close in Monday’s session.
Stellar corporate earnings have provided valuation support and the basis for stock prices to march higher. With the second-quarter reporting season winding down, the S&P 500 is on track to post an earnings growth rate of 95.4%, which would be the fastest pace since the fourth quarter of 2009.

“We believe we’re still in the early innings of the cycle and that strong economic and earnings growth and relatively low rates through 2022 should support higher equity prices and sustain the bull market,” Wells Fargo strategists said in a note.
Investors are awaiting a key jobs report on Friday ahead of the Labor Day weekend. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect 750,000 jobs were created in August and the unemployment rate fell to 5.2%.
On the political front, the Pentagon said the U.S. has finished its evacuation efforts from Kabul’s airport, effectively ending America’s longest war.

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More