Stock Futures Muted as Second Half of 2021 Gets Underway

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are eyeing more gains to kick off the second half of 2021, last seen up 73 points as reopening and energy stocks build strength. S&P 500 Index (SPX) is also continuing its climb, after yesterday notching its fifth-straight all-time high, as well as its fifth monthly win in a row. Futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX), meanwhile, continue to cool, and are set to open just below breakeven. Investors are poring over this morning's weekly jobless claims data, which came in at 364,000 -- well below analysts estimates and marking a new pandemic-era low -- while looking ahead to Friday's closely monitored jobs report, with the addition of 683,000 positions expected for June. 

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• GEVO has pulled back to this historically bullish trendline. 
• Looking back at what went wrong with Altimmune stock yesterday. 
• Plus, WBA's beat-and-raise; Micron makes a million-dollar sale; and Boeing names new CFO. 

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.8 million call contracts traded on Wednesday, and 748,409 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.40 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.43.
2. The shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) are up 1.2% this morning, following the pharmaceutical retailer's second-quarter earnings report. The firm posted profits and revenue that topped analysts' estimates, thanks in part to a bounce in prescription sales, and also raised its full-year forecast. The stock is now up 31.9% in the first half of the year, with recent support at the 120-day moving average guiding it higher. 
3. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) also entered the earnings confessional, reporting earnings and revenue that topped analysts' estimates for its fiscal third-quarter, as well as an upbeat current-quarter forecast. The shares are slipping however, last seen down 1.7% on news that Micron sold its Utah chip factory to Texas Instruments (TXN) in a $900 million cash deal. The stock has been rebounding, up 80.9% in the last nine months, though pressure near the $85 mark has been keeping a lid on shares since early May. 

4. Frequently volatile blue-chip member Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) is climbing back up the charts, last seen up 0.9% in electronic trading, following an announcement that former General Electric (GE) executive Brian West will take on the role of chief financial officer (CFO), in place of Greg Smith. BA looks to have found a floor at the $235 level recently, and added 11.9% in the first half of the year, though it lost roughly 6% in the second quarter.

5. Today will bring the Markit manufacturing PMI and ISM manufacturing index. 

Asian Markets Sink Amid Influx of Economic Data

Markets in Asia fell today, with the South Korean Kospi pacing the region with a 0.4% loss. China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.07%, after Chinese factory activity growth slowed in June, as per its Caixin/Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) which dropped to 51.3 in June from 52 in May. Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei lost 0.3%, after the headline index for large manufacturers' sentiment in the Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan business sentiment survey spiked to +14 from March's +5. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was closed for holiday.

Over in Europe, stocks are on the rise across the board midday, after the IHS Markit's final manufacturing PMI of 63.4 showed euro zone manufacturing activity growing at its fastest pace ever for the month of June. London's FTSE 100 is sporting a 0.9% lead, though the U.K. manufacturing PMI fell from its May record high. Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 is up 0.5%, and the German DAX is 0.3% higher.