1. -- Stock Futures Fluctuate Ahead of Inflation Data

Stock futures turned lower Tuesday after federal health agencies saif they would call for a pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson’s  (JNJ) - Get Report single-dose coronavirus vaccine after rare clotting cases in six recipients in the United States.

Both the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will stop using the drug, developed by J&J's Janssen Pharmaceuticals division, at federal vaccination sites after six people were found to have developed a rare blood clot issue within two weeks of receiving the single-dose shot.

Contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 134 points, S&P 500 futures were down 13 points and futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 20 points.

Investors Tuesday awaited inflation data to determine what risks a bump up in consumer prices might have on a U.S. economic recovery.

Wall Street also was preparing for the start of first-quarter earnings season and a Treasury auction of 30-year bonds after sales of three- and 10-year notes were met with slightly lower demand than previous auctions.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury rose early Tuesday to 1.685%. 

Bank Earnings Preview: Here's What Jim Cramer Is Watching

Stocks closed Monday with modest losses and the S&P 500 snapped a three-day winning streak. The broad market index finished last week with its third straight weekly gain.

Asian equities ended Tuesday's session mostly higher but stocks in Shanghai declined after China reported exports rose nearly 31% in March, which was lower than expectations.

 

2. -- Tuesday's Calendar: Consumer Price Index for March

The U.S. economic calendar for Tuesday includes the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for March at 6 a.m. ET and the Consumer Price Index for March at 8:30 a.m.

Economists surveyed by FactSet expect U.S. consumer prices to have risen 0.5% last month, with the annual rate at 2.5%.

Core inflation, excluding food and energy prices, is forecast to increase 0.2% in March or 1.5% on an annual basis.

Earnings are expected Tuesday from Fastenal FAST, OrganiGram OGI and KushCo Holdings KSHB.

Top Earnings to Watch This Week: JPMorgan Chase, PepsiCo, Goldman Sachs

3. -- Bitcoin Rallies to All-Time High

Bitcoin jumped to an all-time high Tuesday of more than $63,000 as the cryptocurrency sector prepares for this week's market debut of Coinbase Global  (COIN) - Get Report.

The world's largest cryptocurrency rose to as high as $63,191, according to CoinDesk.

Coinbase Global, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, will make its trading debut Wednesday through a direct listing on the Nasdaq. 

“It’s the evolution of an industry that used to sit on the periphery,”  Nick Jones, CEO and co-founder at cryptocurrency wallet Zumo, told Bloomberg. “It really blurs the lines between crypto and more traditional financial institutions.”

The IPO values the company at about $100 billion, more than the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq combined, according to Bloomberg.

Coinbase’s public debut this week also boosted the digital coins of other cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Binance Coin, which has jumped to become the third-most valuable cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin and Ether, according to Bloomberg.

 

4. -- Jim Cramer Likes Innovative Tech Companies Such as Microsoft and Nvidia

Jim Cramer, the founder of TheStreet, told viewers of his "Mad Money" program Monday that he likes tech stocks so much because they're always innovating.

He highlighted two: Microsoft  (MSFT) - Get Report, which announced it was buying speech-recognition software maker Nuance Communications  (NUAN) - Get Report for nearly $20 billion in a push further into healthcare for the software giant.

The other was Nvidia  (NVDA) - Get Report, the chipmaker that announced Monday it was offering its first server microprocessors, a move that will further heat up the chipmaker's rivalry with Intel  (INTC) - Get Report.

Microsoft and Nvidia are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS member club. Want to be alerted before Jim Cramer buys or sells the stocks? Learn more now.

 

5. -- GameStop's Search for New CEO Being Led by Ryan Cohen

GameStop  (GME) - Get Report has begun a search for a new chief executive and the effort is being led by Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen, who became a GameStop director in January, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Reuters was first to report that videogame retailer GameStop was looking for a successor to CEO George Sherman, who has been chief executive since April 2019, as it looks to become more of an e-commerce company.

GameStop is focusing its search on candidates with a background in technology or the videogame industry, the Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Cohen isn’t planning on taking the role, the person also said. 

At least three top lieutenants of Sherman have left the company or announced plans to depart within the past few months. Former Chief Financial Officer Jim Bell and Chief Customer Officer Frank Hamlin are among senior executives who recently have left the company.

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