Stocks poised for positive opening
U.S. stock index futures rose early Tuesday, following gains on Wall Street after European Union leaders agreed to a landmark spending package worth €750 billion ($860 billion) to help their economies recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
The package will give out €390 billion ($446 billion) of grants and €360 billion ($640 billion) of low-interest loans.
Commenting on the agreement, European Council President Charles Michel described it as “the right deal for Europe right now,” while French President Emmanuel Macron hailed as a “historic day for Europe.”
Traders also welcomed promising results from trial of a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) and Oxford University researchers.
As of 5:55 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures indicated a gain of 166 points, or 0.62% to 26,799. S&P 500 futures rose 22.87 points, or 0.7% to 3,268.12 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were up 94.12 points, or 0.86% to 11,045.12.
Coca-Cola and Lockheed Martin earnings on tap
Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) is expected to report adjusted earnings of 40 cents a share, on sales of $7.2 billion before the market opens on Tuesday, based on data compiled by Refinitiv. In the same period a year ago, the company posted adjusted earnings of 41 cents a share.
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is seen reporting earnings of $5.72 per share on revenue of $15.23 billion ahead of the opening bell.
Also on tap today is Philip Morris (NYSE: PM) and Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN). Philip Morris is expected to report earnings of $1.10 a share on revenue of $6.50 billion, while Texas Instruments is forecast to post earnings of 86 cents a share on revenue of $2.91 billion for the latest quarter.
Crude futures higher ahead of API data
In commodities, crude futures were also higher on Tuesday morning ahead of industry data on U.S. crude stocks.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) is scheduled to report its latest numbers for the past week at 4:30 p.m. ET, while in the previous week, it said crude oil stocks fell 8 million barrels.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Department publishes its more closely watched figures, with a drawdown of 1.95 million barrels expected.
As of 5:50 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 90 cents, or 2.2% to $41.81 a barrel. Global Brent crude futures gained 96 cents, or 2.22% at $44.24 per barrel.
