Futures point to a positive open
U.S. stocks look set to open in the green on Friday after President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden met Thursday night for their second and final debate ahead of the Nov. 3 election. The two candidates squared off about the Covid-19 pandemic, trade policy, climate change, health care, energy policy, policing, foreign policy and more.
According to Stephen Innes of Axi, “the final U.S. presidential debate was less chaotic than the first but offered little new information to inform the result for markets. Meanwhile, discussion relevant to the post-election economic outlook was limited, particularly from President Trump.”
By 5:35 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow were indicated 103 points, or 0.36% higher to 28,371. The S&P 500 futures rose 10.18 points, or 0.3% to 3,459.38 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were up 15.87 points, or 0.14% to 11,665.62.
FDA approves Gilead’s remdesivir for the treatment of hospitalized Covid-19 patients
Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Gilead (NASDAQ: GILD)’s antiviral remdesivir for treating patients hospitalized with Covid-19.
The drug was previously authorized for emergency use in the treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Gilead becomes the first and only drug to receive approval for a COVID-19 treatment in the United States, according to a press release issued by the company on Thursday.
As of this writing, Gilead stock was indicated $3.13, or 5.16% higher to $63.80 in the pre-market trading session Friday.
Intel tumbles as earnings fall by nearly a quarter pandemic bites
On the earnings front, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) are tumbling after the chipmaker posted disappointing results after market closed on Thursday.
The company announced a slump in data center revenues and revealed its earnings declined by nearly a quarter from the same period last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Adjusted earnings came in at $1.11 per share, down 21.83% on a year-over-year basis but above Wall Street’s forecast of $1.10 per share. Revenue dropped to $18.3 billion from $19.19 billion in the same quarter last year.
Intel CEO Bob Swan said in a press release that the results were “solid” and better than the company’s internal expectations, with it feeling “pandemic-related impacts in significant portions of the business.” Intel shares were down $5.16, or 9.57% to $48.75 each in the pre-market trading session Friday.
Notable earnings to watch today include Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX), American Express (NYSE: AXP), Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW), Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) Cruises, and Autoliv (NYSE: ALV).
