Trump, Biden await voters’ verdict
U.S. stock futures are pointing to a sharply higher open for Wall Street on Thursday as market participants await results from some of the final swing states that will determine the presidential election.
By 4:50 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow were advanced 312 points, or 1.12% to 28,047. The S&P 500 futures were up 51.22 points, or 1.49% to 3,486.12, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures traded 288.12, or 2.45% higher to 12,051.12.
Former Vice President Joe Biden has won key swing states including Michigan and Wisconsin, his party is also tipped to hold a majority in the House of Representatives. However, the prospects of the Democrats controlling the Senate have dwindled.
Biden has urged patience as votes are being counted and recounted. President Donald Trump’s campaign has filed lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia over the collection of ballots.
Fed decision eyed
Traders will also be focusing on the Federal Reserve monetary policy decision later today and its economic assessment, given the resurgence in coronavirus cases and for any guidance on its future policy actions, particularly with respect to bond purchases.
Policymakers have hinted in recent weeks that the Fed could expand its quantitative easing program. Analysts believe the central bank could consider shoring up financial markets if a contested presidential result caused extreme disruptions.
The Fed will publish its updated policy statement at 2 p.m. ET, and Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a virtual news briefing at 2:30 p.m. ET. He is likely to face questions about the need for additional monetary and fiscal stimulus during the briefing.
Early Thursday, the Bank of England announced another round of government bond purchases, becoming the first major central bank in Europe to unleash stimulus in response to the new coronavirus wave.
The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee agreed to pump a bigger than expected £150 billion ($195 billion) and warned that it expects the economy to shrink this quarter as the United Kingdom enters into a four-week lockdown to curb the spread of the virus.
Jobless claims data on tap
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor is scheduled to publish its weekly unemployment claims report today at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Expectations are for another 735,000 Americans to have filed first-time jobless benefits in the week ended Oct. 31 as new coronavirus infections threaten to hurt the pace of recovery in the jobs market. A total of 751,000 first-time unemployment benefits were filed during the prior week.
The number of Americans filing for continuing claims is dropping at the lowest level since March, but remains more than four times February’s weekly average.
Qualcomm surges on earnings; GM, Alibaba on watch
Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) are popping after the chipmaker reported better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings and provided strong guidance for the current quarter.
Earnings grew 85.90% over the past year to $1.45 per share, beating analysts’ projection of $1.17 per share. Adjusted revenue came in at $6.5 billion, up 35.35% from the same period last year and ahead of the $5,94 billion analysts expected.
The stock was indicated $18.23, or 14.14% to $147.20 a share in Thursday’s pre-market trading session.
Notable earnings to watch today include Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), General Motors (NYSE: GM), AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), and Cigna (NYSE: CI).
