Welcome to 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.
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1. Equity investors are on edge after hawkish comments from Fed officials, along with surprisingly weak jobs data. Crypto is up broadly, with the exception of ether ahead of a major network upgrade. Take a look at what the markets are doing.
2. Robinhood is heading to the moon. The trading app notched a two-day gain of as much as 126% and quickly became the most talked about stock on Wall Street Bets. After initially trading below its IPO price, the company's rally has pushed its founders within reach of its $1.4 billion stock payout.
3. Employers want to stop the work-from-home wave, but employees don't want to give it up. Employees started quitting in record numbers when companies announced plans to return to some in-person work, leaving giants like Uber and Google scrambling to repurpose more flexible schedules for employees. Read why the future of work is shaping up to be far different than before the pandemic.
4. On the docket: Moderna, adidas, Nintendo, and Monster Beverage, all reporting.
5. The 'buy the dip' mentality will keep stocks afloat through the end of the year, according to TD Ameritrade's chief market strategist. Retail investors have bought up recent dips largely through buying ETFs. Still, the strategist anticipates inflation and Fed moves will bring volatility to markets.
6. The SEC chair announced he's only open to bitcoin funds coming to market within certain parameters, irking some bitcoin fund managers. Gensler said a bitcoin-futures ETF could be possible under stricter governing laws. "What the SEC seems to be doing is pushing individual investors into higher-risk, lower quality products," said a head of digital assets research.
7. The FDA is set to approve a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine within a month - and BioNTech's stock surged. Moderna has also rallied more than 20% over two days amid recent concerns over the COVID-19 Delta variant. This week, retail traders have driven over $180 million in retail cash between Moderna and Pfizer.
8. Lumber is shouting timber: A 65% plunge from May's all-time high for lumber prices even though Americans still want to buy new homes. Suppliers have ramped up output but demand has cooled, but one analyst expects that there is a "demand yet to show up in the market."
9. A BlackRock strategist laid out his investing approach for the rest of 2021. It has to do with picking quality stocks that can withstand a slowed economic growth. For risk-adjusted returns during flatlining months, focus on tech companies, especially semiconductor names, according to the strategist - see what else to include in your plan.
10. Space tourism is a growth industry, and you can capitalize on it: Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and SpaceX all plan to send people into space this year. Two investment strategists and an astrophysicist shared tips for investors to gain from the space race - including buying into space-themed ETFs.
Compiled by Phil Rosen. Feedback? Email [email protected] or tweet @philrosenn.
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