Morning Briefing: S&P 500 posts best first half in 23 years

U.S. stock futures were higher in early morning trading on Thursday as investors gear up for the second half of 2021.

Dow futures rose 59 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were both in mildly positive territory.

Bitcoin and Ether head for worst second-quarter on record for the world's No. 1 and 2 crypto.
Bitcoin and Ether's second-quarter performances are shaping up to be one for the history books. At least, in the relatively thin annals of the world's most prominent crypto, which was staring down the barrel at the worst second-quarter performance in their history, going back to records from 2010, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas leader Robert Kaplan reiterated his view that it will soon be time for the U.S. central bank to slow the pace of its $120 billion a month in bond buying stimulus, a process he expects to go smoothly.

Sentiment among Japan's large manufacturers rose to the highest level in 2 1/2 years during the second quarter thanks to a recovering global economy.

Sweden's central bank said it still expects the key repo rate to remain at 0% in the years to come, with updated forecasts showing the repo rate remaining unchanged throughout its forecast horizon that runs to the third quarter of 2024.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board, the U.S. standard-setter, aims to issue a proposal for a new rule on companies' programs by the end of the year.

The Dow and S&P 500 closed the first half of the year with double-digit percentage gains, despite risks of inflation and stocks being priced to perfection.

U.S. inventories of crude oil fell by 6.7 million barrels to 452.3 million barrels, remaining about 6% below the five-year average and dropping more than analysts' expectations of decline of 3.6 million barrels

U.S. retailers are facing high prices and scrambling for scarce space on vessels ahead of the holiday shopping season.