Stocks poised to rise at open
U.S. stocks were set to open higher on Friday as market participants looked to end the week on a positive note. As of 5:30 a.m. ET, futures tied to the Dow indicated a gain of 202 points, or 0.73% to 27,747.
The S&P 500 futures added 32.88 points, or 0.98% to 3,373.38 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were up 157.5 points, or 1.41% to 11,335.75.
On Thursday, the Dow lost 405.89 points, or 1.45% to end the session at 27,534.58 after the U.S. Labor Department published data that showed weekly unemployment claims hovered at high levels last week, suggesting a slowing jobs market recovery.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index shed 59.77 points, or 1.76% to 3,339.19 while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 221.97 points, or 1.99% to close at 10,919.59.
GOP-backed pandemic relief package blocked by Democrats
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked a Republican proposal that would have provided around $300 billion in new coronavirus aid.
The proposal included additional unemployment benefits for out-of-work Americans, liability protections for health care facilities and businesses, and funding for schools. The Senate voted 52-47, falling short of the 60 votes needed for the proposal to advance.
Democrats called the bill inadequate, underscoring the rapidly dwindling chances that lawmakers will approve another much-needed stimulus package for Americans weathering the pandemic before the November elections.
Discussions between congressional Democrats and the Trump administration have not resumed since hitting a snag last month.
Peleton surges on upbeat results and guidance
Meanwhile, shares of Peleton (NASDAQ: PTON) were rallying in premarket trade after the at-home-workout company reported its first-ever profit as the coronavirus pandemic boosted sales.
The company said revenue for the fourth-quarter ended June 30 was $607.1 million, up 172% from $223.3 million a year ago. Peleton posted a profit of $89.1 million, up from a loss of $47.4 million in the same period last year.
“The strong tailwind we experienced in March as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold has continued to propel demand for our products,” Peleton CEO John Foley said in press release Thursday.
As of this writing, the stock was up $9.65, or 11.00% to $97.40 a share in pre-market trading Friday.
Trump ramps up pressure on TikTok
President Donald Trump has ruled out extending the Sept. 15 deadline for the popular Chinese-owned video sharing app TikTok to either sell its U.S. operations to an American company or shut down.
“We’ll either close up TikTok in this country for security reasons, or it will be sold. There will be no extension of the TikTok deadline,” Trump told reporters on Thursday.
Trump declared in July that he would ban kick TikTok out of the U.S., saying in an executive order that there is credible evidence that its Beijing-based owner ByteDance might take action that threatens to harm national security.
