Wall Street expected to open in negative territory

Stocks on Wall Street are set to lose ground today as concerns over rising levels of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases worldwide dampen sentiment. Spread betting quotes indicate the Dow Jones Industrial Average will open 74 points lower at 14,127 while the broader-based S&P 500 is set for a 9 point fall to 4,176. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 is seen sliding 38 points to 14,004. On the COVID-19 front, things are not looking too bad for the US, with some reports indicating the more than half the adult population has had at least one jab - or “taken one shot” as the Americans might put it, albeit at the risk of confusing foreigners who think they have been gunned down or are slamming down tequila. “After rising at a modest pace for a couple weeks, the past four straight days have seen new U.S. Covid cases falling on a week-to-week basis. Sunday's 40K cases, according to the New York Times database, were down 16% compared to Sunday last week, following a 19% drop on Saturday. That's the best two-day performance since late February,” reported Pantheon Macroeconomics. “It's not clear why cases have started to fall again—and it's too soon to be sure that the emerging down trend will continue—but the fading of Easter effects, the gradual increase in average temperatures, and the accelerating vaccine rollout likely are all playing a part. Changing behaviour in response to soaring cases probably has made a difference too, especially in Michigan and Minnesota, where restaurant diner numbers have plummeted over the past week. “Cases in both states now appear to have peaked,” Pantheon noted. If the pandemic was the major stock market theme of last year, the GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) saga has been one of the big themes of this year and today it was reported that the computer gaming retailer’s chief executive, George Sherman, will quit before the end of July. The shares were up almost 10% in pre-market trading. In acquisition news, Herman Miller Inc (NASDAQ:MLHR) and Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL) have agreed to merge in a US$1.8bn cash-plus-stock deal. Miller will pay US$11 in cash and 0.32 Miller shares for each Knoll share. Three things to watch for on Monday: Major earnings for the start of the week will include figures from Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO), IBM Co (NYSE:IBM), real estate group Prologis Inc (NYSE:PLD), United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) and tin can maker Crown Holdings Inc (NYSE:CCK) Motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Inc (NYSE:HOG) will be eyed following news it is launching an immediate legal challenge to a 56% tariff on EU imports Crypto markets will also be eyed after Bitcoin suffered a sharp drop in value on Saturday before recovering some of its losses on Monday morning