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U.S. stock-index futures headed higher on Wednesday as investors drew hope from potential progress in Washington on another fiscal stimulus package and the possibility of a vaccine against COVID-19.
Investors are also awaiting a batch of reports on the U.S. economy, including the monthly ADP data on the health of the private-sector labor market, ahead of the monthly Labor Department employment report Friday, and an account of business conditions in parts of the U.S. from the Federal Reserve.
How are the benchmarks performing?
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average YM00, +0.56% YMU20, +0.56% gain 188 points, or 0.7%, at 28,810, those for the S&P 500 index ES00, +0.62% ESU20, +0.62% climbed 23.10 points, or 0.7%, at 3,550, while Nasdaq-100 futures NQ00, +0.97% NQU20, +0.97% advanced 124.50 points to reach 12,437, a gain of 1%.
On Tuesday, the Dow DJIA, +0.75% rose 215.61 points to end at 28,645.66, or 0.8% higher, the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.75% added 26.34 points to close at a record 3,526.65, a gain of 0.8%, after setting an intraday record of 3,528.03; while the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +1.39% advanced 165.21 points to a record 11,939.67 finish, a rise of 1.1%, after touching a new intraday all-time high of 11,945.72.
What’s driving the market?
Stock markets looked upbeat early Wednesday, with a number of possible catalysts helping the investing mood amid the coronavirus pandemic. Bloomberg reported that U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has again restarted talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, sparking fresh hope of another fiscal stimulus plan to help out-of-work Americans.
On the health front, the leading health expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said that a COVID-19 pandemic could come sooner than expected if the roster of companies attempting to achieve a cure are able to produce outstanding preliminary results.
Speaking to Kaiser Health News, Fauci said that the board that is overseeing vaccine approvals could decided that “the data is so good right now that you can say it’s safe and effective.”
Early moves in the session come a day after buying in large-capitalization technology stocks and shares tied to pandemic stay-at-home trends led the S&P 500 index to record its 21st record close of 2020 and the Nasdaq Composite its 41st on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, investors are watching for a reading of on private sector employment on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing Inc ADP, -0.40% is expected to report a gain of 900,000 jobs in August, according to a consensus of estimates surveyed by Econoday. However, the range of projections is vast, from a gain of 150,000 on the low end to 1.46 million new private-sector jobs added on the more optimistic end.
Last month, the pace of U.S. private sector job growth slowed in July, rising 167,000, well below forecasts from economists surveyed by Econoday, which estimate expected a gain of 1.9 million jobs and falling badly behind the 4.3 million in June and 3.3 million in May after a loss of 19.4 million in April, according to ADP data.
In other news, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Tuesday implemented a temporary eviction moratorium through the end of the year, protecting millions of U.S. renters from losing their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration announced.
Other economic data, will be watched, including the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, an anecdotal account of business conditions in the central bank’s districts set to be released at 2 p.m. ET, and before that a report on factory orders for July is due. Reports on U.S. automobile sales will rollout throughout the day.
Which stocks are in focus?
- Shares of Macy’s Inc. M, +0.57% shot up in premarket trading Wednesday, after the department store chain reported a fiscal second-quarter loss that was much narrower than expected as net sales topped forecasts.
