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US pre-open: Stocks called to open higher amid optimism surrounding reopening of economy

By Iain Gilbert

Date: Wednesday 03 Jun 2020

US pre-open: Stocks called to open higher amid optimism surrounding reopening of economy

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were pointing to a positive open ahead of the bell on Wednesday as stocks continued to rally amid growing optimism regarding the reopening of several US states.
As of 1225 BST, Dow futures were up 0.66%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.42% and 0.33% firmer, respectively.

The Dow Jones closed 267.63 points higher on Tuesday as market participants remained optimistic about the reopening of the US economy despite a wave of civil unrest spreading across the country.

As far as Wednesday was concerned, investors will look to the latest private-sector employment figures from EDP. Economists expect to see a further 8.66m jobs lost during May.

Market participants will also remain focussed on a wave of protests across the US as a result of the death of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man, in Minneapolis last week under the knee of a white police officer.

However, with protests becoming more peaceful after several US cities, including New York City, imposed curfews on their citizens, hopes of reopening the economy have offset many other investor worries.

Donald Trump also seemed to be dialling down on his threat to deploy US troops into cities, with White House officials stating this week's response indicated that local governments would likely be able to restore order.

On the macro front, mortgage applications for the week ended 29 March fell 3.7%, a marked turnaround from the 2.7% increase seen in the prior week. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the drop principally stemmed from a reduction in refinancing activity.

Still to come, the all-important ADP employment figures will be released at 1315 BST, while IHS Markit's final composite and services PMIs will follow at 1445 BST and monthly factory orders numbers and non-manufacturing data from the Institute for Supply Management will be both be released at 1500 BST.

In corporate news, 3M revealed on Wednesday that long-time chief financial officer Nick Gangestad will be succeeded by Monish Patolawala, while Warner Music Group priced its initial public offering at $25 per share as it looked to raise up $1.92bn.

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