Stock futures rise day after Trump wins U.S. election

[November 10, 2016]  By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were higher on Thursday with Dow futures hitting a record high, a day after Republican Donald Trump won the White House race and signaled a shift from austerity policies.

Investors are seeing Trump's policies such as tax cuts, deregulation of banks and higher defense and infrastructure spending as being more business-friendly.

"President Trump's acceptance speech has soothed many nerves and the hope is that we will see a more calm and sensible version of Trump," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets UK Ltd.

"Given that both the House and the Senate belong to the Republicans, the odds are a lot better for a possibility of further fiscal stimulating policies in the coming days."

Wall Street and stock markets across the globe staged an abrupt recovery on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average flirting with a record intraday high.

The three major index futures are on track for their fourth straight day of gains - the longest streak since August.

The dollar <.DXY> jumped to a two-week high of 98.85, while gold pulled back from its highs on Wednesday as investors returned to riskier assets such as stocks.

The Mexican peso <MXN=> continued its downward momentum against the dollar as Trump's policies are considered deeply negative for the country.

As investors decipher what a Trump presidency would mean to the world, they will also keep an eye for the last few corporate quarterly earnings reports, including those from Walt Disney and department store operator Macy's.

A report on weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET and St. Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard's speech at 9:15 a.m. ET, will be watched for hints on the central bank's plans to raise interest rates at its meeting next month.

Shares of drug stocks such as Amgen Celgene and Gilead  rose on Trump's victory and after California voters turned down a ballot initiative aimed at reining in rising prices for prescription drugs.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) the day after the U.S. presidential election in New York City, U.S., November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Tech heavyweights Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Alphabet were up about 0.9 percent in premarket trading. The stocks were mainly responsible for the decline in the technology index on Wednesday.

Kohl's soared 7.7 percent to $49.20 after the department store operator reported a 21.7 percent rise in quarterly profit.

Futures snapshot at 7:01 a.m. ET:

Dow e-minis  were up 126 points, or 0.68 percent, with 59,495 contracts changing hands.

S&P 500 e-minis were up 12.5 points, or 0.58 percent, with 312,109 contracts traded.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis  were up 37.25 points, or 0.77 percent, on volume of 50,959 contracts.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
 

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