Futures point a rebound
U.S. stock futures are pointing to a positive open on Wednesday after President Biden announced in a brief speech at the White House yesterday that the country was “on track” to have enough supply of Covid-19 vaccines “for every adult in America by the end of May.”
Biden said the U.S. government had brokered a deal in which drugmaker Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and rival Merck (NYSE: MRK) would work together to deliver 100 million vaccine doses two months earlier than expected.
Traders are also optimistic that Democratic lawmakers will seek to reach a consensus over unemployment benefits and other issues as they seek to finalize Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief package in coming days.
By 5:30 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow were indicated 233 points, or 0.74% to 31,591. Those for the S&P 500 rose 25.12 points, or 0.65% to 3,892.62 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 jumped 91.75 points, or 0.7% to 13,147.
Crude rallies ahead of OPEC+ meeting
Crude futures were also gained early Wednesday amid reports that OPEC and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, is considering rolling over oil output cuts from March into April instead of raising production because of fragile oil demand recovery due to continuing concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic.
OPEC+ members are scheduled to hold a meeting on Thursday.
As of 5:30 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 97 cents, or 1.62% to $60.72 a barrel. International Brent crude futures were at $63.70, up $1.00, or 1.59% a barrel.
KemPharm skyrockets 69% as FDA approves its ADHD drug
Meanwhile, shares in KemPharm (NASDAQ: KMPH) climbed 69.35% to $15.97 in pre-market trading session Wednesday after the company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its New Drug Application for (NDA) Azstarys.
Azstarys, formerly referred to as KP415, is a once-daily product for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in patients age six years and older.
As per the definitive collaboration and license agreement between KemPharm and an affiliate of Gurnet Point Capital (GPC), the latter will lead the commercialization of Azstarys, with U.S. commercial availability as early as the second half of 2021.
