Stock futures tick higher on trade deal hopes; focus on data ahead of Thanksgiving

[November 27, 2019]  By Arjun Panchadar

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher on Wednesday, as optimism around trade talks continued, while investors waited for crucial domestic economic indicators in a holiday-shortened week.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the United States was in the "final throes" of work on a deal that would defuse a prolonged trade war with China, but also underscored Washington's support for protesters in Hong Kong, a potential sore point with Beijing.

Wall Street's main indexes have hit record highs consistently this month on the back of hopes of a resolution to the trade dispute, third-quarter earnings that have largely come in above lowered expectations and a third interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve this year.

Domestic data points have been fairly resilient as well in the face of a slowing global economy. On Wednesday, investors will watch for the Commerce Department's consumer prices report.

The core personal consumption expenditures price index, excluding volatile food and energy components, is expected to have risen 0.1% in October after remaining flat in the prior month. The report is expected at 10 a.m. ET.

Separately, the department will also release the second reading of third-quarter GDP, which is expected to remain unchanged at 1.9%.

Trading volumes are expected to be light ahead of the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday and an early market close on Black Friday.

At 7:05 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis <1YMcv1> were up 6 points, or 0.02%. S&P 500 e-minis <EScv1> were up 3.5 points, or 0.11% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQcv1> were up 19 points, or 0.23%.

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., November 6, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

Among stocks, HP Inc <HPQ.N> rose 1.7% in premarket trading after the company posted quarterly earnings above analysts' estimates, as higher sales of personal computers and workstations helped counter weakness in its printer business.

Under Armour Inc <UAA.N> gained 2.6% as Raymond James upgraded the sportswear maker's shares to "strong buy" from "outperform".

Tesla Inc <TSLA.O> was up 0.8% after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk suggested in a tweet that the automaker had received 250,000 orders for its electric pickup truck unveiled five days ago.

However, shares of Deere & Co <DE.N> dropped 3% as the farm equipment maker posted lower quarterly earnings, hurt by trade tensions and poor weather in the U.S. farm belt that have slowed equipment purchases by farmers.

Guess Inc <GES.N> fell 6% after the clothing retailer missed quarterly revenue expectations and gave a disappointing full-year forecast.

(Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

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