Stock market live updates: First trading day of June, Dow set to rise, third straight up month?

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The Chinese government has told state-run agricultural companies to pause purchases of some American farm commodities including soybeans, Bloomberg News reported Monday. State-owned traders Cofco and Sinograin were ordered to suspend purchases, one person told Bloomberg, while buyers have also canceled an unspecified quantity of U.S. pork orders. The directive comes as tensions between Washington and Beijing worsen, threatening the longevity of the phase-one deal the two nations inked in January. — Franck

Shares of Pfizer slipped more than 5% during premarket trading after the company reported disappointing results from its breast cancer drug trial. “The trial is unlikely to show a statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of invasive disease-free survival,” a release from the company said. “We are disappointed in this outcome,” said Chris Boshoff, Pfizer global product development’s chief development officer in the oncology division. Shares of the pharma giant are down roughly 2% this year. – Stevens

Stocks were set to kick off the month little changed, with futures pointing to modest gains at the open for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average, while the Nasdaq Composite was slated to open slightly lower. All major averages are coming off a positive week — it was the Dow’s best week since early April — as well as their second straight positive month. Stocks have moved higher as states around the country have begun to reopen their economies. But widespread protests over the weekend have sparked fears that there could be a second wave of coronavirus cases. – Stevens 

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