Wall Street set to open flat
U.S. stocks are expected to start the week flat as traders await a slew of financial reports from the tech, energy, industrial and consumer sectors.
By 5:50 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures were down 17 points to 26,503. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures rose 8.75 points to 10,631.25 while the S&P 500 futures were flat.
Among notable companies reporting this week include United Airlines (NYSE: UAL), International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM), Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA).
AstraZeneca’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine in focus
Traders will also be focusing on AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) as the company prepares to publish the first results of the COVID-19 vaccine it has developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford.
The results, due to be released later today, come at a time when the number of confirmed global cases of the coronavirus has climbed to more than 14.5 million and deaths jumped to 606,200 according to Johns Hopkins University.
According to the Telegraph newspaper, the results look promising but the vaccine has not been proven to provide long-lasting immunity against COVID-19.
AstraZeneca stock was little changed in the pre-market trading session Monday.
Noble Energy shares surge after agreeing to be bought by Chevron for $5 billion
Noble Energy (NASDAQ: NBL) shares rocketed 9.27% to $10.55 in pre-market trade after Chevron (NYSE: CVX) said it would buy the Houston-based oil and gas producer for $5 billion.
The deal represents 7.5% premium to Noble’s Friday closing price, and values Noble at $13 billion, including the assumption of debt.
“Noble Energy’s multi-asset, high-quality portfolio will enhance geographic diversity, increase capital flexibility, and improve our ability to generate strong cash flow,” Chevron CEO Michael Wirth said in a statement. “These assets play to Chevron’s operational strengths, and the transaction underscores our commitment to capital discipline.”
