Mnuchin casts doubt on a new coronavirus stimulus deal
U.S. stock futures are pointing to a sharply lower opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to extend the downward move seen over the past few sessions.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin signaled Wednesday that a new economic relief package is unlikely before the upcoming election, suggesting that Democratic leaders are unwilling to hand President Donald Trump a victory.
“I’d say at this point getting something done before the election and executing on that would be difficult, just given where we are in the level of details,” Mnuchin said during an event hosted by the Milken Institute’s Global Conference. He added that the president would continue pushing for a spending deal.
As of 5:20 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow were indicated 284 points, or 1% lower to 28,130. The S&P 500 futures dropped 40.78 points, or 1.17% to 3,440.12 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures shed 215.25 points, or 1.8% to 11,759.
Weekly jobless claims data on tap
Meanwhile, new U.S. labor market data set to be released today will give an indication of just how much the economy is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Department of Labor will issue its latest snapshot at 8:30 a.m. ET of the level of layoffs in the country, which still remain at a high level as the economy struggles to recover from the damage caused by the pandemic.
Economists expect the department to show the number of Americans filing for jobless benefits dropped to 825,000 in the week ended October 10 from 840,000 in the prior week.
Continuing jobless claims are projected to come in at 10.550 million for the week ended October 3, compared to 10.976 million during the prior week.
More earnings ahead
Traders are also awaiting a slew of quarterly reports today. Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ: WBA), Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW), Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB), and Aphria (NASDAQ: APHA) are among companies scheduled to report ahead of the opening bell.
Del Taco Restaurants (NASDAQ:TACO), Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG), and Marten Transport (NASDAQ: MRTN) will report after the market close.
Elon Musk slashes Model S price again to $69,420
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) will once again lower the price of its flagship sedan, the Model S, to $69,420. Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted on Wednesday. The reduction is the company’s second this week for the high-end sedan, following a 4% cut to $71,990 on Tuesday.
Musk made the announcement after Tesla competitor, Lucid Motors, revealed their least expensive vehicle, the Lucid Air, would start at $77,400. Lucid also noted that U.S. buyers also qualify for a federal tax credit of $7,500, which would effectively lower the price to $69,900.
Tesla reported 15,200 combined global deliveries for the Model X SUV and Model S during the third quarter, which was down from the 27,660 reported in 2018.
Shares of the company were down $10.22, or 2.22% to $451.08 each in the pre-market trading session.
