US OPEN: Wall Street opens slightly lower ahead of Powell

• Wall Street opens slightly lower

• US100 looks towards recent highs in 14,200 pts

• Delta Air Lines seeks to hire 1,000 additional pilots

US indices launched Tuesday's cash session slightly below closing prices from Monday. Situation echoes the performance of European equities today, which have moved lower as well. Carnage on the cryptocurrency market has little impact on equity markets so far, what seems to confirm that underperformance of digital assets is related to news from China (wider crypto clampdown) rather than overall deterioration in moods. Powell will testify on pandemic support in Congress today and his speech at 7:00 pm BST may result in elevated volatility.

Source: xStation5

While US indices like S&P 500 (US500) or Dow Jones (US30) have noticeably pulled back from recent record highs, Nasdaq-100 (US100) slipped just slightly. In spite of a risk of earlier-than-expected Fed taper, US tech shares hold firm. The index bounced off a lower limit of the short-term upward channel recently and looks to be eyeing a test of recent highs in the 14,200 pts area. Should it succeed with breaking above this hurdle, the next resistance to watch can be found at around 14,375 pts, where the 127.2% exterior retracement of April-May correction can be found. Note that Powell's speech at 7:00 pm BST may trigger volatility spike on indices.

Company News

According to a Bloomberg report, Delta Air Lines (DAL.US) plans to hire 1,000 additional pilots by next summer. Decision comes amid increased demand for travel as pandemic restrictions in the United States are being lifted. Delta Air Lines said that domestic leisure travel volumes have already recovered to pre-Covid levels this month. Note that around a fifth of Delta's employees left the company last year when the pandemic situation was at its worst and now Delta is beginning to struggle to service booming demand.

Bloomberg reported that ExxonMobil (XOM.US) aims to reduce office employment in the United States by 5 to 10% over the next 3-5 years. Decision on who will be laid off will depend on individual performance rating of each employee, with lowest rated workers being at the highest risk of losing their jobs. However, ExxonMobil rejected Bloomberg's report shortly afterwards saying that it is currently doing a regular, annual workforce assessment rather than sketching a long-term employment plan.

Shares of MicroVision (MVIS.US) traded lower at the beginning of today's Wall Street session. Company announced that it will offer from time to time new shares worth up to $140 million. Proceeds from sale will be used for general corporate purposes, like working capital or investments.

MicroVision (MVIS.US) launched today's trading with a bearish price gap. News on new share offering pushed the stock lower. Price dropped below the support zone at $18.50 but bulls attempt to recover from losses at the start of trading. Traders should note that price action over the past couple of months suggests that stock may be set for a larger drop - a large head and shoulders pattern with a neckline at $12.50 can be spotted on the chart. However, for this signal to materialize, a drop below the neckline would be required. Source: xStation5