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Stocks of refiners, pipeline operators, insurers and home
improvement retailers will be in focus after Harvey was set to
dump more rain on Houston on Monday, worsening flooding that has
paralyzed the country's energy hub.
Harvey has knocked out a quarter of oil production from the Gulf
of Mexico, prompting fears it could overturn years of excess
U.S. oil capacity and low prices. [O/R]
U.S. crude futures <CLc1>, which earlier hit two-year highs,
dipped more than 1 percent to $47.38 over concerns that refinery
shutdowns could reduce demand for American crude.
"The unfortunate event from Hurricane Harvey will have some sort
of impact on the numbers, down the line ... at this point, it
does not appear to affect equities," said Andre Bakhos, managing
director at Janlyn Capital.
U.S. economic growth had more than halved in the quarter after
Hurricane Katrina mauled Louisiana in August 2005.
"The Wall Street population is thinner than usual, and we've had
no fresh news of any type, whether it's on the geopolitical
front or from the administration, that has materially impacted
traders' outlook," said Bakhos.
Dow e-minis <1YMc1> were up 22 points, or 0.1 percent, with
21,013 contracts changing hands at 8:34 a.m. ET (1234 GMT).
S&P 500 e-minis <ESc1> were up 3.75 points, or 0.15 percent,
with 128,391 contracts traded.
Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQc1> were up 10.25 points, or 0.18 percent,
on volume of 30,705 contracts.
The dollar index <.DXY> fell to as low as 92.372, its weakest
since early May 2016, before recovering a little to trade down
0.28 percent at around 92.48.
The currency has been under pressure after Federal Reserve Chair
Janet Yellen stayed silent on monetary policy in a
much-anticipated speech on Friday.
Among stocks, Marathon Oil <MRO.N>, Valero Energy <VLO.N> and
ConocoPhillips <COP.N> were up about 1.3 percent. Oil majors
Exxon <XOM.N> inched up 0.1 percent and Chevron <CVX.N> rose 0.6
percent.
Home Depot <HD.N> was up 1.55 percent, while Lowe's <LOW.N> rose
1.91 percent as the two largest U.S. home improvement chains
could be among the biggest beneficiaries of post-Harvey
recovery.
Shares of Kite Pharmaceuticals <KITE.O> soared 28.89 percent
after Gilead Sciences <GILD.O> agreed to buy the immunotherapy
developer in an all-cash deal valued at $11.9 billion. Shares of
Gilead gained 1.3 percent.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj
Kalluvila)
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