Futures edge higher
U.S. stock markets were set to open slightly higher on Friday, as traders eyed the release of several quarterly earnings and economic data that could shed more light on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.
Durable goods figures for March are due at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the University of Michigan will publish its final measure of April consumer sentiment at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Yesterday, the Labor Department said another 4.427 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the week ended April 18, bringing the five-week total of coronavirus-related job losses above 26 million.
On the earnings front, traders are awaiting reports from Verizon (NYSE: VZ), American Express (NYSE: AXP) and Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) before the bell.
By 5:50 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures were up 92 points, or 0.39% to 23,429. S&P 500 futures rose 12.63 points, or 0.45% to 2,793.38 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a gain of 22.87 points, or 0.27%.
Gilead’s coronavirus drug remdesivir reportedly disappoints
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) shares fell in Thursday’s regular session, after the Financial Times reported that remdesivir, an experimental drug originally developed by the company to treat Ebola, failed its first study in COVID-19 patients.
The publication, citing a summary of the China-based study inadvertently published by the World Health Organization, said remdesivir failed to improve patients’ condition.
Gilead, however, dismissed the report saying it included “inappropriate characterizations” of the study. In a statement, the company the study results were “inconclusive, though trends in the data suggest a potential benefit for remdesivir, particularly among patients treated early in disease.”
Gilead shares closed Thursday’s session, down 4.34% to $77.78. The stock rose 1% to $78.56 in premarket trade Friday.
Intel shares slump on tepid second-quarter guidance
Shares of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) are tumbled after the chipmaker reported upbeat first-quarter earnings and revenue, but issued second-quarter EPS outlook that missed analysts’ projections.
The company said late Thursday that it had adjusted earnings of $1.45 per share, up from $0.89 per share in the same period last year. Revenue grew 23% to $19.8 billion, thanks in part to coronavirus-related work-from-home component demand and data center strength.
On average, analysts had expected adjusted earnings of $1.27 per share on revenue of $18.67 billion.
For the current quarter, Intel is forecasting earnings of $1.10 per share on revenues of roughly $18.5 billion. Analysts expected the company to issue earnings-per-share guidance of $1.17 and revenue of $18.1 billion.
The company did not issue a full-year outlook because of uncertainty around the coronavirus pandemic. As of writing, the stock was down 4.71% to $56.26 a share in Friday’s premarket trading session.
