BNY Mellon Investments chief strategist Alicia Levine on her outlook for the stock market and bitcoin.
US stock futures rebounded on Thursday as Congress moved closer to a deal on a COVID-19 aid package.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 100 points, or 0.33%, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were up 0.47% and 0.46%, respectively.
The early advance comes after the Nasdaq closed in record territory on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve put policy on hold and reiterated its commitment to keep interest rates low for years.
Top lawmakers will continue on Thursday to work out the final details of the $ 908 billion bipartisan proposal that is gaining momentum.
The package consists of two parts: a $ 748 billion bill for unemployment benefits, funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, and potentially direct payments to individuals; and a $ 160 billion bill that provides funding for state and local governments and corporate liability protection.
CONVENTION ENCLOSES $ 900 Billion Coronavirus Relief Deal That May Include Second Stimulus Check
Kentucky Senate Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that the two sides have “made great strides” toward a deal.
Looking at stocks, Moderna Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be available. Thursday will receive approval from a panel of the US Food and Drug Administration, paving the way for emergency use approval a day later. The roll-out of the vaccine would then begin almost immediately.
Meanwhile, Texas and nine other states filed a lawsuit against Google on Wednesday alleging the search giant had anti-competitive trading practices in the online advertising market. The lawsuit also accused Google of partnering with Facebook Inc. to manipulate ad auctions. A Google spokesperson called the lawsuit “worthless,” while Facebook did not respond to FOX Business’s request for comment.
Elsewhere, Roku Inc. multiple price target increases from Wall Street analysts after the company announced late Wednesday that it has reached a deal to add streaming service HBO Max to its platform. The service is available from Thursday.
In terms of revenues, General Mills Inc. quarterly results that outperformed both the top and bottom lines, boosted by animal feed and container sales. The company forecasts organic revenue growth of 7% for the current quarter, similar to the previous quarter.
Homebuilder Lennar Corp. reported better-than-expected revenues and revenues, benefiting from record-low interest rates and a flight from city centers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
FedEx will report its quarterly results after the closing bell. Analysts polled by Refintiiv expect adjusted earnings of $ 4.01 per share on revenue of $ 19.46 billion.
Thursday’s economic data was tough and the results were mixed.
Initial jobless claims for the week ending December 12 totaled 885,000, more than the 800,000 analysts surveyed by Refinitiv expected. Persistent claims decreased more than expected to 5,508 million.
Elsewhere, housing numbers were stronger than expected with season increases of 1,547 million and permits at 1,639 million. The Philadelphia Fed index came in at 11.1, shy of the expected 20.0.
In terms of commodities, gold climbed $ 22.60 to $ 1,881.70 an ounce, while West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 15 cents to $ 47.97 a barrel.
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In Europe, the UK’s FTSE 100 was down 0.04% after the Bank of England held policy, while the French CAC 40 and German DAX 30 rose 0.32% and 0.73% respectively.
Asian markets closed higher across the board, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 adding 0.18%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index up 0.82% and China’s Shanghai Composite index up 1.12%.