Markets poised to open mixed
U.S. stocks look set for a mixed start on Thursday after the initial burst of optimism over progress in a coronavirus vaccine faded as traders and health professionals raised questions about when the vaccine may become ready for widespread use.
As of 5:20 a.m. ET, futures for the blue-chip Dow were indicated 136 points, or 0.46% lower to 29,175. Those for the S&P 500 future dropped 3.72 points, or 0.1% to 3,564.38 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures soared 66.12 points, or 0.56% to 11,952.12.
In commodities, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 9 cents, or 0.22% to $41.54 a barrel. International Brent crude futures were at $43.88, up 8 cent, or 0.18% a barrel.
Initial unemployment claims report on tap
On the data front, traders are awaiting a report on initial claims for jobless benefits for the week ending Nov. 6. The report, to be released by the U.S. Department of Labor at 8:30 a.m. ET, will offer some insight into the recovery of the jobs market.
Expectations are for initial jobless claims to fall to 740,000 last week from 751,000 a week earlier, according to data compiled by The Wall Street Journal.
Continuing claims are projected to come in at 6.9 million, down from 7.285 million in the week ended Oct. 30.
Claims have dropped from an all-time high of almost 7 million at the end of March, but have remained between 750,000 and 850,000 for over a month, a sign that the labor market still has a long way to before we get back to pre-pandemic levels.
Disney, Cisco earnings eyed
Notable companies reporting results today include Disney (NYSE: DIS), Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), and Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR).
Analysts expect Disney to report a loss of 71 cents per share on revenue of $14.20 billion after the closing bell. Cisco is projected to announce earnings of 70 cents per share on revenue of $11.85 billion after the market close.
Recently listed Palantir is projected to report earnings of 2 cents per share on revenue of $279.36 million after the closing bell.
Other key earnings to watch today include Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), Farfetch (NYSE: FTCH), and TransDigm Group (NYSE: TDG).
