Futures point to a lower open
U.S. stock futures were pointing to slight losses for Wall Street on Thursday as the surge in coronavirus cases threatened economic recovery and offset optimism over the distribution of a vaccine.
By 5:50 a.m. ET, futures for the blue-chip Dow futures were down 109 points, or 0.37% to 29,282. The S&P 500 futures dropped 11.52 points, or 0.32% to 3,553.38 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 lost 50.75 points, or 0.43% to 11,846.25.
The U.S. on Wednesday reported over 170,000 new coronavirus cases while the death toll surpassed the 250,000 mark.
Illinois, Minnesota, Kentucky and Wisconsin are rolling out new restrictions to curb the spread of the virus including limits on private gatherings, extended mask mandates, and restaurant and bar closures.
Yesterday, New York City ordered schools to shut as the city recorded a seventh-straight day with a coronavirus positivity rate of more than 3%.
Weekly jobless claims data eyed
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor will at 8:30 a.m. ET publish jobless claims data for the week ended November 14.
Expectations are for new unemployment claims to come in at a seasonally adjusted 710,000, according to figures compiled by the Wall Street Journal. That would be slightly higher than the 709,000 filed the prior week.
Continuing claims are forecast to come in at 6.47 million, slightly lower number than the previous week.
Nvidia revenue grew 57% in Q3; More earnings ahead
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) slid in the pre-market trading session Thursday despite the chip-maker reported a 57% growth in revenue during the third-quarter, helped by sales of its chips used for home computing and gaming.
The company said earnings in the period were $2.91 per share, well ahead of forecasts of $2.57. Revenue came in at $4.73 billion, beating analysts’ expectations of $4.41 billion.
As of writing, shares in Nvidia were down $10.24, or 1.91% to $526.91.
Notable earnings to watch today include Macy’s (NYSE: M), Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM), Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) and BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ).
Uber price target raised from $49 to $60 at Wedbush
Wedbush analysts Dan Ives, Ygal Arounian, and Strecker Backe have raised their price target on Uber (NYSE: UBER) from $49 to $60, maintaining an “outperform” rating to the stock.
The analysts said in a note to clients Wednesday that the ride-hailing company would be a “standout name” next year as mass distribution of a coronavirus vaccine would allow more people to start working and spending their free time outside the house.
As of writing, Uber stock was indicated 1.12% to $49.66 a share in the pre-market trading session Thursday.
