Investing.com — Wall Street is seen trading in tights ranges Thursday ahead of the more labor market data, as a precursor to Friday’s monthly jobs report. Shell and Equinor announced plans for a North Sea joint venture, while UnitedHealth will have to adjust to the death of a senior executive and French PM Michel Barnier is set to resign.
1. Fatal shooting of UnitedHealth executive
UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) will be in the spotlight Thursday, after Brian Thompson, the CEO of the company’s insurance unit, was killed on Wednesday in what police described as a targeted attack by a gunman.
“This does not appear to be a random act of violence,” New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press conference. “Every indication is that this was a premeditated, pre-planned, targeted attack.”
Thompson, who became CEO of UnitedHealthcare in 2021 after joining UnitedHealth Group in 2004, was said to be in New York City for an investors meeting at a hotel.
Thompson’s wife, Paulette, told NBC News that he had received some threats, though she did not know any specifics.
“Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage?” she said, appearing to allude to a potential insurance-related motive, according to the network. “I don’t know [the] details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
UnitedHealth is the largest US health insurer, providing benefits to tens of millions of Americans.
2. Futures subdued ahead of jobless claims
US stock futures traded in tight ranges Thursday, after the main Wall Street indices recorded new closing highs, ahead of more labor market data and quarterly corporate earnings.
By 04:00 ET (09:00 GMT), the Dow futures contract was up 6 points, or 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures dropped 4 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures fell by 40 points, or 0.2%.
The main benchmarks closed at new record levels Wednesday after Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that the US economy was strong enough for the central bank to move carefully on rate cuts.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was the day’s star, rising 1.3%, while the broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7%, closing above 45,000 for the first time.
There is more labor market data to study Thursday, in the form of the weekly jobless claims, and this follows private payrolls growing less than expected in November. The widely-watched monthly jobs report is due for release on Friday.
There are more quarterly earnings to digest Wednesday, from the likes of Dollar General (NYSE:DG), Kroger (NYSE:KR), Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE), while American Eagle (NYSE:AEO) and Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) will also be in the spotlight after releasing results after Wednesday’s close.
3. Bitcoin soars past $100,000
Bitcoin rose sharply Thursday, posting new record highs above the $100,000 milestone as traders cheered President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of a pro-crypto candidate to lead the SEC.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency broke out of its recent trading range after Trump nominated former commissioner Paul Atkins to head up the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the government agency that regulates the securities industry.
At 04:00 ET, Bitcoin traded over 6% higher to $102,880.0, having earlier climbed to a new record of $104,000.
Bitcoin is the world’s most widely used cryptocurrency, and has more than doubled from this year’s low of $38,505 since Trump’s election win in early November.
Atkins has expressed support for digital assets in the past, and is set to replace incumbent SEC Chair Gary Gensler in January.
Genseler had led a two-year crackdown on malpractice in the crypto industry, launching enforcement action against several major companies, including Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) and Ripple, over allegations of selling illegal securities.
“Atkins… recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,” Trump said in a social media post.
4. French PM Barnier set to resign
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier is expected to resign later Thursday after losing a vote of no-confidence, plunging France into its second major political crisis in six months.
The hard left and far right ganged up on Barnier for ramming an unpopular budget, which he deemed necessary to shrink a gaping deficit, through parliament, fracturing the fragile coalition government.
French politics has been in crisis since President Emmanuel Macron called snap elections in early June, and the country now faces a period of deep political uncertainty that is already unnerving investors in French sovereign bonds and stocks.
France now risks ending the year without a stable government or a 2025 budget, and this political turmoil will further weaken a European Union already reeling from the implosion of Germany’s coalition government.
5. Crude just higher; Shell and Equinor to form joint venture
Oil prices drifted higher Thursday, taking support from a bigger-than-expected draw in US inventories ahead of the latest meeting of top producers to discuss output levels.
By 04:00 ET, the US crude futures (WTI) climbed 0.2% to $68.68 a barrel, while the Brent contract rose 0.2% to $72.42 a barrel.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, are scheduled to meet online later Thursday, and are widely expected to extend their latest round of oil production cuts, providing additional support for the oil market.
Reuters reported that the group will likely announce an extension by at least three months from January, citing OPEC+ sources.
OPEC+ has been looking to phase out supply cuts through next year, but has become concerned that weak demand and an increase in supply in 2025 will see prices slump sharply.
Government data released on Wednesday showed US oil inventories shrank by just over 5 million barrels in the final week of November, much more than expected.
The oil sector will also be in focus Thursday after Shell (LON:SHEL) and Norway’s Equinor announced plans to create a jointly owned energy company.
The joint venture will be established in Aberdeen, Scotland, and is set to become the UK North Sea’s largest independent producer, producing more than 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025.