US pre-open: Futures higher as Pelosi issues White House with stimulus deadline
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Monday 19 Oct 2020
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures had stocks opening higher ahead of the bell on Monday as a continued rise in the number of new Covid-19 cases and stalled stimulus talks remained in focus.
As of 1225 BST, Dow Jones futures were 0.73% higher, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.83% and 1.01% firmer, respectively.
The Dow closed 112.11 points higher on Friday, snapping a three-day losing streak.
In focus prior to the open was data from Johns Hopkins University which showed Covid-19 cases were growing by 5% or more in 38 US states as of Friday, while nationwide, the daily case average had risen by more than 16% week-on-week to almost 55,000.
Also taking up much of investors' attention were comments from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office on Saturday that she would be allowing the Trump administration 48 hours to reach an aid deal before the 3 November election as Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin continued talks over the weekend and agreed to speak again on Monday.
"The 48 only relates to if we want to get it done before the election, which we do," said Pelosi on Sunday. "We're saying to them, we have to freeze the design on some of these things - are we going with it or not and what is the language? I'm optimistic, because again we've been back and forth on all this."
CMC Markets' analyst David Madden said: "Nancy Pelosi, of the Democrats, said that she is optimistic about a deal being struck before the US presidential election, but there was an acknowledgement that differences still exist. Some people are less convinced that an agreement can be reached as by tomorrow - the deadline that Pelosi set out.
"It would seem that traders are taking the view that where there is a will there is a way attitude as the political landscape isn't looking too great but US index futures are higher."
On the macro front, the National Association of Housebuilders' housing market index for October will be released at 1500 BST.
Turning to the Federal Reserve, chairman Jerome Powell's speech will take place at 1300 BST, while New York president John Williams will speak at 1400 BST, vice chairman Richard Clarida will deliver comments at 1645 BST, Atlanta president Raphael Bostic will talk at 1930 BST and Philadelphia president Patrick Harker will make an address at 2000 BST.
In the corporate space, IBM and Halliburton will both report earnings on Monday.
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