Wall Street indexes opened higher ahead of data on the property market and after President Biden decided to nominate Jerome Powell for another term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Here’s what we’re watching in Monday’s trading:
- Astra Space successfully completed its first commercial orbital launch for the U.S. Space Force. The Alameda, Calif., company said the test payload, launched from its Kodiak Spaceport in Alaska, reached precise orbit in less than 10 minutes.
- Ericsson agreed to buy cloud-communications provider Vonage for $6.2 billion, in deal that the Swedish telecom-equipment maker said will expand its wireless enterprise business and broaden its global offerings.
- Activision Blizzard Chief Executive Bobby Kotick has told senior managers he would consider leaving the company if he can’t quickly fix the culture problems at the videogame giant, according to people familiar with his comments.
- Rivian and Ford decided to go their separate ways rather than collaborate on future electric vehicles, backing away from an earlier strategic pact that led to a multibillion-dollar windfall for Ford.
- Roblox was extending its recent tear in early trading. Last week the online-gaming company said it plans to bring educational games to schools world-wide, and Nike launched a virtual play place on Roblox’s platform.
- Airbnb declined more than 3% after the opening bell. Perhaps investors are worrying that a recent rise in Covid-19 cases in many countries could cut into travel this winter.
- Zoom Video Communications , Urban Outfitters and Agilent Technologies are due to report results after the close.
Chart of the Day
- The roster of public companies is on the rise again after decades of decline—thanks to frothy valuations, dizzying price climbs and splashy initial public offerings.
Write to James Willhite at james.willhite@wsj.com