Futures point to a positive open
U.S. stock futures were trading in the green territory early Wednesday, extending the positive trend since Joe Biden was declared the winner of the Presidential election and encouraging news from Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY)’s experimental coronavirus vaccines.
The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 262.95 points, or 0.9% higher on Tuesday, while tech stocks dragged down the Nasdaq and S&P 500. Bond markets are closed today for Veterans Day.
As of 5:45 a.m. ET, futures for the Dow advanced 206 points, or 0.7% to 29,525. Those for the S&P 500 futures gained 25.38 points, or 0.72% to 3,566.38 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures added 114.25 pints, or 0.98% to 11,732.50.
Crude futures extend gains as industry data shows crude draws
In commodities, crude futures were also trading higher on Wednesday morning after data published by the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday showed U.S. crude stockpiles decreased by 5.15 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 6.
Analysts had projected a stockpile decline of about 913,000 barrels.
By 5:45 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $42.99, up $1.63, or 3.94% a barrel. International Brent crude futures were up $1.62, or 3.71% to $45.23 a barrel
Apple unveils a new lineup of computers
Meanwhile, shares in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) rose in pre-market trading after the tech giant on Tuesday showed off upgrades to the line of Mac computers that will all use the Apple-owned M1 chip.
Apple said the new MacBook Air is the world’s best-selling 13-inch notebook computer and the most popular Mac. The MacBook Air still starts at $999 but is supposed to be 3.5 times faster than the current generation.
The iPhone-maker also unveiled a new Mac Mini that starts at $699, and a 13-inch MacBook Pro with a base price of $1,299. Apple CEO Tim Cook described yesterday’s event as a “huge day for Mac. Huge day for Apple.”
As of writing, Apple shares were trading 0.93% higher to $117.08 each in pre-market trade.
