Markets set to open in the green
U.S. equity futures were pointing to a positive start on Thursday after a sell-off in tech stocks continued for a third day in the previous session, dragging down all three major stock indexes more than 2%.
As of 5:30 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow indicated a gain of 138 points, or 0.5% to 27,663. The S&P 500 futures added 24.38 points, or 0.73% to 3,359.88 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were up 194.88 points, or 1.76% to 11,255.38.
Tesla stock bounces slightly after massive slump
Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) rose in pre-market Wednesday, to bounce slightly after suffering their worst day ever, after the company was recently rejected by the S&P 500 despite meeting the benchmark index’s eligibility criteria.
The stock plunged 21% to end Tuesday’s regular session at $330.21, its biggest slump since the electric-car maker went public in 2010.
Tesla was the worst performer of any Nasdaq 100 member yesterday. The sell-off cut the company’s market valuation down by about $82 billion to $307.7 billion.
As of this writing, the stock was up $22.29, or 6.75% to $352.50 a share in pre-market trade.
Crude futures higher ahead of API data
Crude futures were also trading higher early Thursday as focus turned towards the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) weekly crude inventories data.
As of 5:30 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 65 cents, or 1.77% to $37.41 a barrel. International Brent crude futures were at $40.27 a barrel, up 49 cents, or 1.23%.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) will publish later today its preliminary data on U.S. crude stocks while the Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release its official report tomorrow.
AstraZeneca temporarily halts advanced trials of its coronavirus vaccine
AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) has put on hold advanced clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine it is developing with Oxford University after a participant had a suspected adverse reaction in the United Kingdom.
The British drugmaker said the stopping of the trial was a routine action after any participant develops an unexplained illness. The halt will allow for a review of safety data by an independent committee.
AstraZeneca reportedly said it is working so that the review can be done expeditiously without affecting the trial’s timeline, according to Reuters. Shares of the company were down 2.34% to $53.43 apiece in pre-market trading session Thursday.
