|
Markets were anticipating increased trading volumes in the day
due to the expiration of stock index futures, stock index
options, stock options and single stock futures at the end of
trade - also known as quadruple witching.
Wall Street's three major indexes had ended at record highs on
Thursday as the passing of a bill seemed imminent, with
bipartisan lawmakers saying the pandemic's worsening toll meant
that failure to agree on new stimulus was no longer an option.
Dismal retail sales data and unemployment claims through the
week were also seen as furthering the case for more stimulus.
The prospect of continued monetary and fiscal stimulus has
helped stocks look past the economic ructions from the virus,
and set them up for strong annual gains, despite a rocky start
to the year.
U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were up 4.25 points, or 0.11% at 06:17 a.m.
ET, Dow E-minis were up 12 points, or 0.04%, while Nasdaq 100
E-minis were down 0.25 points.
Wall Street indexes were also set to end the week higher, with
the Nasdaq set to outperform its peers with a 3.1% gain on
sustained buying into technology stocks.
Tech major Microsoft Corp shed 0.5% in premarket trade after the
company said it found malicious software in its systems related
to a massive hacking campaign disclosed by U.S. officials this
week.
FedEx Corp fell 2.8% after the package delivery company declined
to give an earnings forecast for 2021, even as its quarterly
profit almost doubled.
Shares of rival United Parcel Service Inc also declined 0.9%.
Centene Corp dropped 1.3% after the health insurer forecast 2021
adjusted profit below Wall Street estimates, as it said
enrollment in its Obamacare plans was not coming in as expected.
Retail stocks including those of Kohl's Corp, Walmart Inc and
Macy's Inc rose between 0.5% and 2.6% after the National Retail
Federation said over 150 million American shoppers could buy
holiday gifts in stores or online this year on the last Saturday
before Christmas, or "Super Saturday," up by more than 2 million
from last year.
(Reporting by Ambar Warrick and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru;
Editing by Maju Samuel)
[© 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 This material may not be published,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.
|
|
