Futures inch higher
U.S. stocks are set to rise at the start of trade Wednesday after President Donald Trump indicated yesterday that he wants to restart the economy, but acknowledged it is possible some lives will be lost as states ease restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
“Take a look at what’s going on. People are losing their jobs. We have to bring it back, and that’s what we’re doing,” Trump said in an exclusive interview with ABC News. “We can’t sit in the house for the next three years,” he said, adding that “there’ll be more death.”
“It’s possible there will be some [deaths] because you won’t be locked into an apartment or a house or whatever it is. But at the same time, we’re going to practice social distancing, we’re going to be washing hands, we’re going to be doing a lot of the things that we’ve learned to do over the last period of time,” the president said.
By 5:30 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures advanced 180 points, or 0.76% to 23,941. S&P 500 futures were up 21.37 points, or 0.75% to 2,879.62 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a gain of 65.63 points, or 0.74% to 8,989.88.
Traders are also eyeing the ADP National Employment Report of private U.S. payrolls today, which is expected to reveal that close to 22 million jobs were lost in April.
Disney earnings take a hit from coronavirus
Disney (NYSE: DIS) saw its second-quarter profits plummet by more than 90% as the entertainment giant was hit hard by effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its total operating income also dropped 37% to $2.4 billion in the March quarter due to the pandemic, according to the company’s earnings statement published late Tuesday.
“The impact of COVID-19 and measures to prevent its spread are affecting our segments in a number of ways, most significantly at Parks, Experiences and Products where we have closed our theme parks and retail stores, suspended cruise ship sailings and guided tours and experienced supply chain disruptions,” Disney said.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $0.60 per share, down from $1.61 per share in the same period last year. Revenue came in at $18.01 billion, up 21% from the $14.92 billion reported in the prior-year period.
Analysts had called for adjusted earnings of $0.89 per share on revenue of $17.8 billion, according to data compiled by Refinitiv. However, those forecasts have been lowered in recent weeks as the deadly virus forced Disney to halt movie production and shut its theme parks.
Disney stock was down 1.36% to $99.69 a share in Wednesday’s premarket trading session.
Crude fragile gains continue ahead of EIA report
Crude prices were also higher on Wednesday morning, as they continued to recover from recent historic lows, with traders awaiting the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to publish its weekly report on U.S. inventories at 10:30 a.m. ET.
The EIA report is expected to show U.S. crude inventory increased to 8.1 million barrels last week, compared with a rise 9 million barrels during the week ended April 25.
As of 5:30 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures expiring in June rose 83 cents or 3.38% to $25.39 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 72 cents, or 2.32% to $31.69 per barrel.
