Bank of Japan unveils more stimulus measures
U.S. stock markets look set to open higher on Monday after the Bank of Japan announced it was pumping more stimulus into the economy to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
By 6:20 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow were up 235 points, or 0.99% to 23,893. S&P 500 futures rose 26.38 points, or 0.93% to 2,855.88 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a gain of 114.38 points, or 1.3% to 8,883.38.
The Bank of Japan announced it will buy unlimited government bonds and ramp up purchases of other assets. The central also sharply trimmed its economic forecast, and now sees Japan’s GDP shrinking between 3% and 5% in the fiscal year that ends in March 2021.
Crude prices still under pressure
Meanwhile, crude futures were still under pressure again on Monday as traders remained concerned that producers could run out of space to store all the unneeded barrels amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday that U.S. crude stockpiles rose 15 million barrels for the week ending April 17 to 518.6 million barrels, marking a 13th consecutive weekly surge.
As of writing, the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures contract for June delivery was down $2.4, or 14.17% to $14.54 per barrel. International Brent crude futures for June were at $23.94 per barrel, down 84 cents, or 3.39%.
Apple reportedly pushes back mass production of new iPhones
In other news, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is delaying mass production of its upcoming iPhone 12 models by around a month, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
The report, which cited people familiar with the matter, said the delay is because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which has disrupted its Asian supply chain and weakened the global smartphone demand.
Apple traditionally launches new iPhone models in September and starts shipping them before the end of the month. The new line-up is widely expected to come with significant improvements to the cameras, performance and connectivity.
Apple shares were little changed in the premarket trading session Monday.
