Wall Street on the back foot as rising virus cases rattle investors

10.05am: Proactive North America headlines: Green Battery Minerals Inc (CVE:GEM) (OTCMKTS:GBMIF) (FRA:BK2P) outlines two year development path for its Quebec graphite asset Vicinity Motor Corp (CVE:VMC) (OTCQX:BUSXF) (FRA:6LG) announces $6M-plus contract for 15 compressed natural gas buses Hillcrest Energy Technologies Ltd (CSE:HEAT) (OTCMKTS:HLRTF) (FRA:7HIA) inks Memorandum of Intent for a stake in a British Columbia electric vehicle equipment supplier Australis Capital Inc (CSE:AUSA) (OTCMKTS:AUSAF) (FRA:AC4) and Copperstate Farms strike a major facility agreement PyroGenesis  Canada Inc (TSE:PYR) (NASDAQ:PYR) (FRA:8PY) says its Additive Manufacturing NexGen Powder production line now in place and producing powders Codebase Ventures Inc (CSE:CODE) (FRA:C5B) (OTCQB:BKLLF) investee InstaCoin launches app designed to let anyone easily create NFTs KULR Technology Group Inc (OTCQB:KULR) appoints Antonio Martinez as its new vice president of Operations Kodiak Copper Corp (CVE:KDK) (OTCMKTS:KDKCF) (FRA:5DD1) expands MPD project with acquisition of Axe property from Orogen Royalties Golden Minerals Company (NYSEAMERICAN:AUMN) (TSE:AUMN) (FRA:7GB) releases 1Q figures that show it is on track to produce at least 12,000 gold ounces in 2021 Real Luck Group Ltd (CVE:LUCK) (OTCQB:LUKEF)  adds VALORANT game betting to its platform Binovi Technologies Corp (CVE:VISN) (OTCQB:BNVIF) (FRA:2EYA) to buy vision therapy firm Samurai Motion Tracking in a C$2.5M all-stock deal Clean Air Metals Inc (CVE:AIR) (OTCQB:CLRMF) (FRA:CKU) finds palladium, platinum, copper and nickel in new drill assays at Thunder Bay North project CytoDyn Inc (OTCQB:CYDY) submits manufacturing section of interim order application for leronlimab as coronavirus treatment to Health Canada ImagineAR Inc (CSE: IP) (OTCQB: IPNFF) to be granted its seventh US patent next month Idaho Champion Gold Mines Canada Inc (CSE:ITKO) (OTCQB:GLDRF) (FRA:1QB1) identifies new gold target with 600 metres of strike at Baner project Mirasol Resources Ltd (CVE:MRZ) (OTCPINK:MRZLF) (FRA:M8R) partners with Patagonia Gold on its Nico and Homenaje projects, Argentina 9.41am: US benchmarks start lower The main indices on Wall Street opened in the red on Monday as rising cases of coronavirus around the world rattled market sentiment. Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.17% at 34,141 while the S&P 500 dropped 0.14% to 4,179 and the Nasdaq fell 0.25% to 14,015. While cases are falling in the US, countries such as India and Brazil are experiencing ongoing heavy numbers of new cases, meaning the pandemic is far from over on a global scale. In terms of company news, shares in football club Manchester United were up 7.4% at US$17.36 in early deals, as investors seemed to be the only ones greeting the news of the club’s participation in the proposed European Super Leagues positively, in contrast to the uproar that has swept across the rest of the industry today. 8:00am: 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. Meanwhile, shares in UK football club Manchester United PLC (NYSE:MANU) will be in focus amind the ongoing turmoil in European football caused by the formation of the proposed breakaway European Super League. According to reports, Manchester United has stood down from the European Club Association and the club’s executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, has quit his roles at UEFA, the European football association. 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