Stock futures opened Wednesday night flat, with the three major indices looking to pause after a strong rally earlier in the day.
In the regular session, the S&P 500 briefly topped its record closing level of 3,386.15 on February 19 before ending just slightly below that level. The information technology, healthcare and consumer sectors led the day by the 1.4% increase in the blue chip index.
An improved outlook for the Covid-19 business front in the US, coupled with better-than-expected earnings results among large companies, have given stock markets a chance to continue their march higher, even as uncertainty about the economic and political outlook lingers, some analysts sei. Virus-related hospitalizations in Texas fell to their lowest level since early July on Wednesday, and hospitalizations in California also continued a downward trend, with Governor Gavin Newsom suggested that the state “turned the corner” on the pandemic.
“There’s some visibility at the end of the larger shutdowns. You’ve seen some improvement in business taxes across the Sun Belt,” Ed Clissold, chief strategist at U.S. research group Ned David, told Yahoo Finance’s The First Trade earlier. in the day.
‘But also, we’m mostly through the earnings season, and the beat rate – that’s the percentage of companies that have hit estimates – is actually on pace to reach a record high of 84%. That’s some good news for the market to trade on, “Clissold added.
After the market closed on Wednesday, Lyft (LYFT) reported a slower-than-expected loss in the second quarter, and its 61% decline in revenue in the second quarter was a shallower drop than feared as the pandemic saw demand for ride-healing clears. The company said ridership rose 78% in July compared to the lowest in April, and the company maintained its prospect of reaching adjusted EBITDA profitability until the end of next year.
Investors also persisted in the hope that lawmakers would eventually reconcile their distinct requirements and pass on another coronavirus relief package.
However, the prospects for a full-term contract have appeared bleak since Wednesday, as policymakers continued to spit instead of returning to the negotiating table. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested in an interview with Fox Business that the White House would not support its position on moving forward with the $ 1 trillion proposal by Senate Republicans, despite calls on Democratic lawmakers to do at least twice as much. help. House Speaker Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a joint statement in response to Mnuchin’s remarks that they had “made it clear” that they were “ready to drop $ 1 trillion. if they will raise $ 1 trillion. ‘
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Labor’s report on weekly claims for unemployment insurance was set to reflect the ongoing economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Another 1.1 million Americans are expected to file new unemployment claims last week, for a twenty-first straight week claiming top 1 million during the pandemic.
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6:03 pm ET Wednesday: Stock futures pinch the flat line
Here were the key movements in stock markets, starting at 6:03 pm ET:
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S&P 500 futures (ES = F): 3,369.5, 0.5 points down, as 0.01%
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Dow futures (YM = F): 27.868.00, 2 points up, if 0.01%
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Nasdaq futures (NQ = F): 11,123.5, 2.5 points down, or 0.02%
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