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U.S. stock futures rose on Thursday, pointing to an extension of gains on signs that the U.S. will avoid defaulting on its obligations for at least two more months and that relations with China are thawing.
What’s happening
-
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average
YM00,
+0.45%
rose 167 points, or 0.5%, to 34458 -
Futures on the S&P 500
ES00,
+0.57%
gained 0.6%, or 28 points, to 4,382 -
Futures on the Nasdaq 100
NQ00,
+0.84%
rose 1%, or 145 points, to 14,904
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
rose 102 points, or 0.3%, to 34417, the S&P 500
SPX,
increased 18 points, or 0.41%, to 4364, and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
gained 68 points, or 0.47%, to 14502.
What’s driving markets
Sen. Mitch McConnell, the minority leader and Kentucky Republican, effectively ended worries around a debt ceiling violation by announcing that Republicans would not filibuster an increase. The move only gives two more months of breathing space, but lawmakers say that will provide enough time for critical negotiations on spending to take place.
At the same time, talks in Switzerland between U.S. and Chinese officials set the stage for reports that U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will meet virtually before the end of the year.
The Hang Seng
HSI,
surged 3.1%, its strongest one-day surge since July 29.
Energy prices also continued to cool off, reacting to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement that gas producer Russia would seek to stabilize prices.
Crude-oil futures
CL.1,
fell below $76 per barrel, and the lead U.K. natural-gas contract
GWM00,
dropped 5%.
“Investors welcomed positive talks in the U.S. about the debt ceiling while European traders were also pleased to see Russia offering its energy support to the Old Continent to mitigate the risk of a supply crunch,” said Pierre Veyret, technical analyst at ActivTrades.
The U.S. economics calendar features weekly jobless claims, a day ahead of the eagerly awaited U.S. nonfarm payrolls report.
