NEW YORK, Aug 5 — US stock futures rose today after Disney squeezed out a quarterly profit despite taking a US$5 billion (RM21 billion) charge due to the pandemic, while investors awaited data on private payrolls and the service sector to gauge the country’s economic health.
Leading gains among the Dow’s components in premarket trade, Walt Disney Co jumped 6.1 per cent as revenue declines for its parks and its media networks were not as bad as feared.
Better-than-expected corporate results and a surge in shares of heavyweight technology companies have fueled a stimulus-driven rally in Wall Street’s main indexes and brought the S&P 500 within 2.5 per cent of its record high hit in February.
Investors’ focus today is on the ADP National Employment Report, a precursor to the monthly jobs report on Friday, which is expected to show private payrolls rose by 1.50 million in July after a strong rebound of 2.37 million in June.
ISM’s non-manufacturing survey is also likely to show a similar trend.
Investors have been concerned about signs that the US economic activity is stalling amid a surge in Covid-19 infections in parts of the country, strengthening the case for more fiscal aid.
White House negotiators yesterday vowed to work “around the clock” with congressional Democrats to try to reach a deal on coronavirus relief package by the end of this week.
At 6.11am ET, Dow e-minis were up 182 points, or 0.68 per cent, S&P 500 e-minis were up 17.25 points, or 0.52 per cent and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 39 points, or 0.35 per cent.
Moderna Inc, which is developing a Covid-19 vaccine, rose 2.3 per cent ahead of its quarterly results.
Activision Blizzard raised its full-year forecast for adjusted sales encouraged by a pandemic-driven surge in gaming. Its shares fell 1.4 per cent after closing at a record high yesterday. — Reuters
