Stock futures trade lower
U.S. stocks are set to open lower on Wednesday after ending the previous session in positive territory. By 5:35 a.m. ET, the Dow futures were down 274.5 points or 1.05% to 25,745.5.
The S&P 500 futures lost 28.12 points, or 0.9% to 3,090.38 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 59.25 points, or 0.58% to 10,136.75.
Traders remain concerned about a resurgence in coronavirus infections around the globe that could hamper business activity and cause lead to renewed lockdowns. The U.S. has more than 2,347,100 infections with California, Arizona, and Texas reporting daily records of infections on Tuesday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, described the rising infection and hospitalization trend as “disturbing” when he appeared before a congressional committee examining the U.S. response to the pandemic.
“That’s something I’m really quite concerned about. A couple of days ago, there were 30,000 new infections. That’s very disturbing to me,” he said.
Fauci also added that there is a “promising” vaccine that scientists are working on and could be ready by early next year.
U.S. reportedly eyeing tariffs on EU, UK goods
Meanwhile, a new report by Bloomberg News says the U.S. is considering new tariffs on $3.1 billion worth of goods from Germany, Spain, France and the United Kingdom.
According to the news outlet, which cited a notice published by the office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Tuesday, the Trump administration plans to impose new levies on EU goods such as beer, trucks, olives, and gin.
The administration also wants to increase duties on items like cheese, yogurt, and aircrafts. The tariffs could hurt EU luxury brands such as LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Givenchy and Remy Cointreau, and trigger a wider transatlantic trade war.
Dell weighing sale of VMware stake
In other news, Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL) is weighing spinning off its majority stake in VMware (NYSE: VMW), potentially in a bid to increase its market value, according to the Wall Street Journal. Dell is the biggest shareholder in VMware, with a 81% stake that is worth about $50 billion.
According to the Journal, the PC maker could choose to spin off the stake, or instead to buy the rest of VMware shares it does not already hold. However, the latter option seems less likely because of the company’s already leveraged balance sheet.
The report said the two companies are working with advisers, though the review is in the early stages and there is no guarantee a decision will be made.
As of this writing, Dell shares were up 14.10% to $55.92 apiece in Wednesday’s pre-market trade, while VMware gained 8.72% to $162.25 each.
