What to Watch Today: Dow Set to Add to Wednesday Record Despite Capitol Turmoil

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BY THE NUMBERS

U.S. stock futures rose Thursday, a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high despite the turmoil at the Capitol. Early Thursday, outgoing President Donald Trump said in a statement there "will be an orderly transition" of power, shortly after Congress confirmed President-elect Joe Biden's win. (CNBC)

The Labor Department said Thursday that initial jobless claims totaled 787,000 last week, fewer than estimates for 815,000. However, those numbers compared to pre-pandemic levels are still historically elevated, with the seven-day average of new daily U.S. Covid infections spiking to a record high. (CNBC)

Ahead of Friday's government employment report, the ADP's look at December jobs trends at U.S. companies showed a contraction in private-sector positions for the first time since the early days of the coronavirus. Throughout most of the pandemic, the ADP estimates have been below the final government count. (CNBC)

The 10-year Treasury yield remained above 1% on Thursday morning after projected wins for Democrats in both Senate runoff elections in Georgia. Lightening up on bonds, pushing prices down and yields up, investors bought riskier assets like stocks and bitcoin. (CNBC)

The world's largest cryptocurrency smashed through the $38,000 mark to hit a record high on Thursday as it continued its massive rally. Bitcoin has been up about 29% in the first days of 2021 and is up 380% over the past 12 months. (CNBC)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

Congress early Thursday confirmed the Electoral College vote for Biden, a day after Trump supporters breached the Capitol in a chaotic effort to avoid the formal recognition that the president lost the election. Shortly after the confirmation, White House spokesman Dan Scavino tweeted Trump's statement, which promised "an orderly transition on January 20th," the day of Biden's inauguration, but also perpetuated the baseless claim that he actually won. (CNBC)

Congress' process of counting Electoral College votes was interrupted Wednesday afternoon when rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol building. A woman who was among the invaders was shot and killed by Capitol Police. Three other people died from medical emergencies. Twitter (TWTR) and Facebook (FB) temporarily locked Trump's accounts and removed some of his posts, hoping to quell further violence in Washington following yesterday's assault on Capitol Hill. (CNBC)

Mick Mulvaney, Trump's former chief of staff, announced on CNBC on Thursday he is resigning as special envoy to Northern Ireland. "Those who choose to stay, and I have talked with some of them, are choosing to stay because they're worried the president might put someone worse in," Mulvaney said. But he added that other officials may resign after Wednesday's riot at the U.S. Capitol. (CNBC)

An administration official confirmed to CNBC's Eamon Javers that National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien was considering resigning over the insurrection. O'Brien's deputy, Matthew Pottinger, has reportedly resigned. Stephanie Grisham, chief of staff for first lady Melania Trump, and Sarah Matthews, White House deputy press secretary, resigned Wednesday. (CNBC)

Officially, members of Trump's Cabinet issued harsh rebukes of the violence that unfolded at the Capitol. The officials, however, stopped short of criticizing the president, who had urged his supporters to take action at a pro-Trump rally Wednesday morning. (CNBC)

The National Association of Manufacturers, a trade organization representing 14,000 U.S. companies, called on Vice President Mike Pence to "seriously consider" invoking the 25th Amendment of the Constitution to remove Trump from office. Jay Timmons, CEO of the manufacturers group, is a former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. (CNBC)

During the Capitol siege, Democrat Jon Ossoff was projected as the winner of the second of two Senate runoff elections Tuesday in Georgia. The defeat of Republican David Perdue, whose Senate term expired Sunday, coupled with Democrat Raphael Warnock's projected victory over Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, splits the 100 Senate right down the middle. However, Democrats take over the majority as Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would be the tie-breaking vote. After Biden's inauguration, Democrats will control the Senate, House and the White House. (CNBC)

STOCKS TO WATCH

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY): The housewares retailer reported quarterly profit of 8 cents per share, short of the 19 cents a share consensus estimate. Revenue also fell short of forecasts, hurt by a steep drop in store traffic and higher freight costs, among other factors. Shares dropped 12.5% in premarket trading.

Walgreens (WBA): The drugstore operator beat estimates by 19 cents a share, with quarterly earnings of $1.22 per share. Revenue also exceeded Wall Street projections. Walgreens said the business environment remains challenging, but it is maintaining its prior fiscal 2021 forecast. The shares added 3% in premarket trading.

Conagra (CAG): The food producer reported quarterly profit of 81 cents per share, 8 cents a share above estimates. Revenue was in line with Wall Street forecasts. It also forecast organic sales growth of 6% to 8% for the current quarter, as stay-at-home consumers continue to stoke demand for its frozen dinners and other products. The stock fell slightly in premarket trading.

Constellation Brands (STZ): The spirits producer earned $3.09 per share for its latest quarter, compared to a consensus estimate of $2.39 a share. Revenue also topped estimates and the company authorized a new $2 billion share repurchase program. The shares added 2.4% in premarket trading.

CureVac (CVAC): CureVac struck an alliance deal with drugmaker Bayer, aimed at helping the German biotech firm gain regulatory approval for its Covid-19 vaccine as well as distribute vaccine doses. The stock jumped 15% in premarket trading.

DXC Technology (DXC): The IT consulting firm is the target of a more than $10 billion takeover bid from French rival Atos, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter who spoke to Reuters. A formal approach is said to have been made, with discussions still at a preliminary stage. The stock added 8% in premarket trading.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM): Bank of America Securities upgraded the bank to "buy" from "neutral," calling it "best-in-class" in what will likely be a strong 2021 for banks. The stock added 1.9% in premarket trading.

Nvidia (NVDA): The chipmaker's stock was added to Citi's "Catalyst Watch" list, with Citi expecting Nvidia shares to emerge from recent underperformance coming out of next week's Consumer Electronics Show. The stock rose 2% in premarket trading.

Alibaba (BABA): The China e-commerce giant and Tencent Holdings could be added to a U.S. blacklist by the White House, according to multiple reports. Many consider such a ban unlikely, however, given that the Chinese firms are widely held by U.S. investors.

MGM Resorts (MGM): The casino operator was urged by shareholder Snow Lake Capital to sell 20% of its China business to a strategic partner. Snow Lake owns 7.5% of MGM China and said such a move would give MGM financial flexibility.

Costco (COST): The warehouse retailer reported a 12% jump in December sales compared to a year earlier, helped by increased sales of frozen foods and liquor. Comparable store sales were up 10.7%.

Baidu (BIDU): Baidu has chosen Goldman Sachs (GS) and CLSA for its planned Hong Kong listing, according to a Bloomberg report. The offering by the China-based search engine could raise at least $3.5 billion.

T-Mobile US (TMUS): The mobile service provider added 824,000 postpaid phone subscribers during the fourth quarter, bring its 2020 total to 5.5 million.

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