Markets set to open in green; ADP data on tap
U.S. stock futures were solidly higher on Wednesday morning after all three major indices finished the previous session marginally lower, but posted gains for August.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite closed the month up 1.2%, 2.9%, and 4%, respectively.
At 5:00 a.m. ET, futures tied to the Dow implied a gain of 142 points, or 0.40% to 35,482. S&P 500 futures added 16.75 points, or 0.37% to 4,537.25 while the Nasdaq 100 futures edged up 25.75 points, or 0.17% to 15,608.25.
Today’s economic calendar includes ADP’s private-sector employment data for August.
The data, which comes before the release of the official government jobs data on Friday, is expected to show payrolls rose by 613,000 in August, up from 330,000 in July.
Crude futures gain on API data; eyes OPEC+ meeting
In energy markets, crude futures were also trading in the green territory as data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) reportedly showed a weekly drop in U.S. crude inventories.
The API data released late Tuesday reportedly showed a 4.04 million-barrel fall in U.S. crude inventories for the week ended Aug. 27, according to sources.
U.S. gasoline and distillate inventories dropped 2.7 million barrels and 1.96 million barrels, respectively, in the week ended Aug. 27.
Data to be published today by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is expected to show a draw of about 4.4 million in U.S. crude supplies.
Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, a group called OPEC+, will hold a meeting later in the day to discuss their existing policy of gradual oil production increases.
At 5:00 a.m. ET, U.S West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude future rose 9 cents, or 0.13% to $68.59 a barrel. Global Brent crude futures were trading at $71.77, up 14 cents, or 0.20% a barrel.
Allbirds files to go public in a listing that could value the trendy sneaker maker at $1.7 billion
Allbirds, a Silicon Valley-based shoe startup, which is looking to cash in on the increasing investor interest and global demand for sustainable products, has filed to go public.
The stock is expected to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “BIRD,” according to its IPO paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
However, Allbirds has not yet determined the number of shares it will offer in the initial public offering or what the expected price range of the IPO might be.
JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and BofA Securities are the joint book-running managers for the IPO.
For all of 2020, the company recorded a loss of $23.6 million and revenue of $219.3 million.
