Futures point to more gains
U.S. stocks are set to move higher at Tuesday’s opening bell after Washington and Beijing said they are optimistic about the state of their Phase 1 trade agreement, even as they battle over a number of other issues including the coronavirus pandemic, national security, human rights, technology and Hong Kong.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He held a phone call late Monday about implementing the agreement.
“The parties addressed steps that China has taken to effectuate structural changes called for by the agreement that will ensure greater protection for intellectual property rights, remove impediments to American companies in the areas of financial services and agriculture, and eliminate forced technology transfer,” read a statement released by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office (USTR).
“Both sides see progress and are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure the success of the agreement,” the statement added.
As of 5:40 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow were up 156 points, or 0.55% to 28,395. The S&P 500 futures added 12.88 points, or 0.38% to 3,440.38 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures indicated gain of 25.25 points, or 0.22% to 11,661.5.
Exxon Mobil axed from the Dow
Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), a Dow component for 92 years, was taken off the blue-chip index on Monday and replaced by enterprise software company Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM).
Aerospace and defense contractor Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX) and drug company Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) were also removed from the blue-chip index.
They are set to be replaced by manufacturing conglomerate Honeywell (NYSE: HON) and biotech Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN).
The changes, which will take effect with the close of trading on August 31, were prompted by Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)’s 4-for-1 stock split that goes into effect the same day, according to the S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, the company that oversees the Dow.
Video game technology firm Unity files for IPO on NYSE
Unity has filed for an initial public offering, the San Francisco-based maker of software for real-time 3D content said late Monday. According to its S-1 statement, the company will trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “U”.
The statement says Unity plans to raise up to $100 million, but that number is often a placeholder that the company will update as it gets closer to the offering.
Proceeds raised from the IPO will be used for general corporate purposes and repaying debt from its outstanding $125 million credit facility.
Unity’s platform allows game developers to create their games on top of its 2D and 3D platforms. The company has raised $699 million since it was founded in 2004 and is valued at roughly $6.3 billion.
