The
labor market is slowly recovering but it has been undermined by
a surge in COVID-19 infections and fresh business restrictions
in the United States, which has boosted layoffs and added
pressure on policy makers for a fresh relief package.
The Labor Department's report, due at 8.30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT),
is expected to show initial claims for jobless benefits eased
slightly to 775,000 in the week ended Nov. 28 from 778,000.
U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has expressed hope that a
fiscal stimulus deal could be reached "in the next few days",
and any legislation would likely need to be supplemented with
further aid next year.
Republicans and Democrats also face a Dec. 11 deadline to pass a
$1.4 trillion budget or risk a shutdown of the government.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases continued to rise. The mayor of Los
Angeles warned the city was nearing "a devastating tipping
point" and ordered residents to stay in their homes in new
lockdown measures.
But progress in developing a working COVID-19 vaccine before the
end of the year has helped investors look past a surge in
COVID-19 infections, pushing the S&P 500 to a record closing
high on Wednesday.
At 06:19 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 30 points, or 0.1% and
S&P 500 E-minis were down 1.25 points, or 0.03%.
Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 19.5 points, or 0.16% as heavyweight
Tesla Inc rose about 3% premarket after Goldman Sachs raised its
rating to "buy" from "neutral" in the run up to the electric-car
maker's addition to the S&P 500.
Waddell & Reed Financial jumped 46%, extending gains from the
previous session after Australia's Macquarie Group announced a
deal to buy the wealth manager for $1.7 billion.
(Reporting by Shriya Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun
Koyyur)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](column_spacer.png)
|
|