Intel, Moderna and F45 Training – 5 Things You Must Know Friday

Here are five things you must know for Friday, July 16:

Table of Contents

1. — Stock Futures Point Modestly Higher

Stock futures rose modestly Friday as investors monitored quarterly earnings for the effect inflation might be having on businesses while assessing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s repeated assurances that rising price pressures will only be temporary.

Contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55 points, S&P 500 futures gained 6 points and Nasdaq futures were up 21 points.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury rose Friday to 1.33%, trimming its third weekly decline.

Stocks finished Thursday’s session mostly lower following comments from Powell that the inflation surge the U.S. is experiencing as it recovers from the pandemic will ease or reverse over time.

He told lawmakers in a second day of testimony that this “particular inflation is just unique in history.

“We don’t have another example of the last time we reopened a $20 trillion economy. We’re humble about what we understand,” the Fed chief said Thursday before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

Optimism about the economic recovery, however, has been tempered this week by concerns growth could stall as variants of the COVID-19 virus spread.

2. — Friday’s Calendar: Retail Sales, Kansas City Southern Earnings

The economic calendar in the U.S. Friday includes Retail Sales for June at 8:30 a.m. and Consumer Sentiment for July at 10 a.m.

Earnings reports are expected Friday from Charles Schwab (SCHW) – Get Report, State Street (STT) – Get Report, Kansas City Southern (KSU) – Get Report and First Horizon (FHN) – Get Report.

3. — Intel Reportedly Exploring Purchase of GlobalFoundries

Intel (INTC) – Get Report is exploring an acquisition of GlobalFoundries that would boost the semiconductor company’s plans to make more chips for other tech companies.

The acquisition could be valued at $30 billion and would rank as Intel’s largest acquisition ever, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal cautioned it’s not certain a deal will go through, and it’s possible GlobalFoundries could proceed with its planned initial public offering.

GlobalFoundries is based in the U.S. but is owned by Mubadala Investment Co., an investment division of the Abu Dhabi government.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said earlier this year the company would seek to become a chip manufacturer for other companies and sought to invest more than $20 billion in chipmaking facilities in the U.S.

In April, Jim Cramer interviewed Gelsinger on his “Mad Money” television program.

Gelsinger told Cramer Intel was taking a more collaborative approach to IDM, or integrated design and manufacturing, working closely with cloud providers to optimize chips and solutions for specific applications. Even small improvements, he said, translate into huge gains at scale.

Intel shares rose 0.99% to $56.36 in premarket trading Friday.

4. — Moderna Shares Set to Join S&P 500

Shares of Moderna (MRNA) – Get Report were rising 8% in premarket trading Friday after it was announced the vaccine maker would join the S&P 500 index.

The stock was rising 8.02% early Friday to $280.49. The stock has gained almost 149% so far in 2021.

Moderna’s share price has skyrocketed since it produced a vaccine effective against the COVID-19 virus. It traded below $20 a share in February 2020, just before the virus was declared a pandemic.

Cramer: 3 Surprising Stocks With Post-COVID Staying Power

Moderna will replace Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN) – Get Report in the S&P 500 on July 21, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices, the manager of the index. Alexion is being acquired by AstraZeneca (AZN) – Get Report.

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