5 things to know before the stock market opens Friday

Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:

Wall Street on track for a winning week on strong earningsBitcoin neared $60,000 on hopes for first bitcoin futures ETFRetail sales out before the bell after this week’s hot inflation dataFDA panel to meet on J&J booster after recommending ModernaVirgin Galactic sinks 20% after delaying commercial service

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose more than 150 points Friday, one day after the 30-stock benchmark broke a four-session losing streak with a surge of 534 points, or nearly 1.6%. While the Dow on Thursday had its best day since July, the S&P 500‘s 1.7% increase was its best day since March. The Nasdaq Composite rose more than 1.7% for its best day since May. The three stock benchmarks were headed for weekly gains. U.S. oil prices rose to a fresh seven-year high, topping $82 per barrel. The 10-year Treasury yield ticked higher to about 1.54%. Dow stock Goldman Sachs rose more than 1% in the premarket ahead the bank’s latest quarterly report. Bank earnings this week have been strong.

Bitcoin continued its march higher Friday, inching toward $60,000 overnight, on growing hopes that U.S. regulators won’t stand in the way of the first bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund. The fund is set to begin trading Tuesday. The Securities and Exchange Commission can object to the filing until midnight Monday. However, many crypto watchers believe the odds are in favor of the ETF beginning trading as scheduled. Bitcoin hit an all-time high near $65,000 in April before a major slump that brought the world’s largest digital currency below $29,000 in June. Bitcoin, known for its volatility, has doubled since then.

Following two key inflation reports this week that showed sticky price pressures on the wholesale and consumer levels, the government is set to report retail sales at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect September headline retail sales to have dipped 0.2% after a 0.7% increase the prior month. Retail sales, excluding autos, are forecast to have risen by 0.5% compared with an August advance of 1.8%. The data will follow the release of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting minutes. According to minutes from its September meeting, the central bank could begin tapering its Covid-era bond purchases as soon as mid-November, as the economy recovers. The Fed’s next meeting is set for Nov. 2-3, with this year’s final meeting scheduled Dec. 14-15.

The Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee is set to meet Friday to consider a booster shot of Johnson & Johnson‘s one-dose Covid vaccine and data on mixing and matching shots. The panel on Thursday unanimously recommended giving a booster of Moderna‘s two-dose Covid vaccine to people 65 and older and other vulnerable adults. The nonbinding decision would bring guidelines for Moderna in line with a third shot of Pfizer‘s vaccine. A final FDA decision on Moderna boosters could come within days after consideration from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Virgin Galactic is delaying the launch of its commercial space tourism service until the fourth quarter of 2022. Shares of Richard Branson‘s space company plunged 20% in the premarket. Virgin Galactic will start this month refurbishing and improving its spacecraft and carrier aircraft, rather than carry out its next spaceflight test. The company’s enhancement process, which is expected to take eight to 10 months, makes mid-2022 the earliest for the Unity 23 spaceflight. Last month, the Federal Aviation Administration cleared Virgin Galactic to return to flight after an investigation into the July spaceflight that carried Branson.

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