Stock index futures were aiming for a higher start for Wall Street on the last day of July on Friday after Apple and Amazon made windfall profits and Facebook and Alphabet, Google’s parent, beat expectations.
However, the lack of progress in Congress on another financial aid bill, the continued increase in coronavirus cases and the disappointing labor market data on Thursday are factors that may limit earnings.
What are the main benchmarks doing?
Futures in the Dow Jones Industrial Average YM00,
increased 67 points, or 0.3%, to 26,285, while S&P 500 ES00 futures,
It gained 8.70 points, or 0.3%, to trade at 3,257.50. Nasdaq-100 NQ00 futures,
NQ00,
It jumped 114.50 points, or 1.1%, to 10,908.50.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
on Thursday it fell 225.92 points, or 0.9%, to finish at 26,313.65, while the S&P 500 SPX,
it lost 12.22 points, or 0.4%, to close at 3,246.22. The Nasdaq COMP Compound,
it increased 44.87 points, or 0.4%, to finish at 10,587.81.
What is driving the market?
Tech gains focused after the results of some of the biggest and most powerful players in the industry after Thursday’s closing bell, including Apple Inc.
AAPL
Facebook Inc.
FULL BOARD,
Amazon.com Inc.
AMZN
and Google father Alphabet Inc.
GOOGL,
GOOG,
Read:Pandemic? Antitrust? Don’t worry about Big Tech, which racked up $ 200 billion in sales anyway
“These impressive results will only serve to widen the gap between these huge tech giants and the rest of the underlying US market; however, they appear to be prepared to ensure that US markets start on the last day of the week and the highest month, “said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, in a note.
However, cyclical stocks that depend on the economic recovery, such as banks and retailers, saw a drop in pre-market operations on Friday, after data on Thursday showed an increase in weekly jobless claims.
I need to know:Apple and Amazon will dominate an economy “without mouths or noses”, but 10% of jobs will never return, says the strategist
Meanwhile, there was no progress in talks between congressional Democrats, Republicans and the White House about a new coronavirus relief bill with higher unemployment benefits due Friday. Democrats rejected a White House proposal to temporarily extend the $ 600 a week in fringe benefits, saying the Trump administration did not understand the severity of the crisis.
The United States recorded a record COVID-19 death toll in Texas, Florida and Arizona, while California faced its second deadliest day.
In vaccine news, European drug maker Sanofi SNY,
said the United States government will pay up to $ 2.1 billion for the COVID-19 vaccine candidate it is developing with GlaxoSmithKline GSK,
. The funding, part of Operation Warp Speed, will be used to support continued clinical development and manufacturing of the experimental candidate, with at least 100 million doses promised to the U.S.
US consumer spending increased 5.6% in June, while personal income decreased 1.1%, according to government data. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had produced a consensus forecast for a 5.9% increase in spending and a 0.8% fall in income. A related measure of core inflation, the Federal Reserve’s favorite indicator of price pressures, was up 0.2%, in line with expectations.
The employment cost index for the second quarter increased 0.5%, compared to expectations of an increase of 0.6%. A final reading of the University of Michigan July Consumer Confidence Index, due at 10 am Eastern Time, is expected to hit 72.9.
Which companies are in focus?
- Apple shares rose more than 6% pre-market after the iPhone maker reported record earnings, crushing Wall Street expectations, and announced a 4-for-1 stock split that will change the hierarchical order of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. weighted by price.
- Amazon shares rose more than 5% before the bell after delivering results that triggered earlier sales and earnings forecasts.
- Facebook shares rose 6.4% in pre-market action after the social media giant easily beat earnings and revenue expectations.
- Alphabet’s shares were trading almost unchanged after Google’s parent company met expectations despite a drop in advertising revenue.
- Actions of Caterpillar Inc
CAT,
-2.80%
It jumped more than 3% in the previous market after the construction equipment giant reported profits and revenue that fell less than expected. - Petroleum Company Chevron Corp.
CVX,
-3.70%
fell prior to trading after delivering a loss and revenue larger than expected that delayed estimates. - Shares of the oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp.
XOM
-1.06%
They were also lower than the bell after they disappointed in profit and revenue. - Ford Motor Co.
F,
-0.81%
Shares rose in pre-trade after offering a narrower-than-expected adjusted loss in the second quarter, with sales cut in half compared to the previous year, but in line with Wall’s forecast. Street - Actions of Merck & Co. Inc. MRK
+ 1.59%
It rose 2.8% ahead of the bell after its earnings and revenues exceeded expectations and the drug maker raised its outlook.
What are other markets doing?
In Asia, China’s CSI 300 index 000300,
increased 0.8%, the SHCOMP compound of Shanghai,
rose 0.7%, the Hong Kong Hang Seng HSI Index,
fell 0.5% and the Nikkei 225 NIK from Japan,
2.8% plummeted.
Stocks were mostly high in Europe, with the Stoxx 600 Europe SXXP index,
up to 0.5% and the UK FTSE 100 UKX,
little changed%.
GCQ20 Gold Futures,
were on the rise, while the ICE US Dollar Index DXY,
was off 0.1%. Oil futures were rising, with the US benchmark CLU20,
up to 0.7% on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond TMUBMUSD10Y,
it fell 1.6 basis points to 0.534%. Yields move in the opposite direction of prices.
.
