Futures rise ahead of a batch of earnings
U.S. stock futures were trading in the green territory early Tuesday, as traders awaited a batch of third-quarter earnings season that could help gauge the next leg of the stock market.
Several notable companies will announce their quarterly financial results today, with Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) scheduled to report after the market close. Analysts expect the streaming giant to post earnings of $2.56 per share on revenue of $7.48 billion.
Other notable earnings to watch today include Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Philip Morris Intl (NYSE: PM), Interactive Brokers (NASDAQ: IBKR), and United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL).
At around 5:36 a.m. ET, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 85 points, or 0.24% to 35,218.
Futures for the S&P 500 climbed 14.25 points, or 0.32% to 4,492.75 to 4,491.75 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 edged up 38.75 points, or 0.25% to 15,329.25.
ProShares to launch its bitcoin futures ETF today
Meanwhile, bitcoin extended its gains on Tuesday as Wall Street eyed the launch of the first U.S. futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) tied to the cryptocurrency later in the day.
According to a CNBC report, ProShares is expected to launch its Bitcoin Strategy ETF on the New York Stock Exchange after receiving the green light from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The fund, which tracks bitcoin future price, will allow any trader with a brokerage account to buy a stake in the cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin has rallied more than 5 percent since Bloomberg reported late last week of the ETF’s likely listing. As of writing, the cryptocurrency was changing hands at $62,081, up $28, or 0.46%.
Jerome Powell offloaded more than $1 million in stock last October
In other news, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman sold between $1 million and $5 million in a broad index fund as the stock market was crashing in October last year.
In a disclosure first reported by The American Prospect, the SEC boss offloaded between $1 million and $5 million of Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund shares on Oct. 1, 2020, only a day before the Dow suffered a heavy loss.
Powell also sold between $50,000 and $100,000 of the same index on Sept. 21, according to the disclosure.
While multiple media reports have said that a government ethics watchdog approved Powell’s trades, the disclosure comes at a time when he is under pressure over a stock trading controversy by other senior Fed officials.
Two top Fed officials stepped down recently after Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported last month that they actively traded stocks and other securities in 2020, as the central bank was supporting financial markets.
