All eyes on bank earnings
Stocks in U.S. are set to open slightly higher on Tuesday morning as investors prepare for big bank earnings. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), and Citigroup (NYSE: C) will kick off the fourth-quarter earnings season ahead of the opening bell.
Canadian cannabis producer Aphria (NYSE: APHA) is scheduled to announce after the closing bell. As of 5:20 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures were up 19.5 points, or about 0.07% to 28,890.5.
The S&P 500 futures rose 0.87 points, or around 0.03% to 3,290.62 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a gain of 2.37 points, or roughly 0.03% to 9,090.62.
Tesla stock surpasses $500 per share for the first time ever
Meanwhile, shares of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) surpassed a major milestone on Monday, surging above $500 apiece for the first time ever. Starting off at $493.50 per share before the bell, the high for the day was $525.63. The stock closed at $524.86 per share.
In premarket trading hours Tuesday, shares of the California-based automaker were pegged at roughly $531.62 each. The rally came after Oppenheimer & Co analyst Colin Rusch increased his target on Tesla $385 to $612.
In a note to clients, Rusch said the company’s “risk tolerance, ability to implement learnings from past errors, and larger ambition than peers are beginning to pose an existential threat to transportation companies that are unable or unwilling to innovate at a faster pace.”
Trump administration drops China from currency manipulator list
In other news, the U.S. has formally lifted China’s currency manipulator status as the two countries prepare to sign their phase one trade deal on Wednesday at the White House.
According to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the U.S. removed China’s designation as a currency cheat because of its commitments in the trade pact.
“China has made enforceable commitments to refrain from competitive devaluation, while promoting transparency and accountability,” Mnuchin said in a statement on Monday. The Trump administration labelled China a “currency manipulator” five months ago.
