Stock futures open slightly higher after selloff
Stock futures opened modestly higher Wednesday evening. The after-hours moves came on the heels of a steep selloff in markets during the regular session, with the Dow dropping 2.72%, or 710 points, for its worst day since its near-7% slide two weeks ago.
The risk-off mood came after some states in the South and West reported another day of increases in new coronavirus cases. California reported more than 7,100 new cases – a one-day record by far for the state – while Florida and Texas also reported record jumps in new cases at more than 5,500 each. Apple (AAPL) re-closed seven more retail locations in Houston, Texas, bringing its total re-closures nationwide to 18 as a result of the rise in infections.
New York, once the nation’s epicenter of new coronavirus cases, along with New Jersey and Connecticut called for a 14-day quarantine for visitors traveling from many of the states seeing major jumps in new cases.
Outside of the US, South Africa on Wednesday reported its largest one-day increase in new infections. In Tokyo, Japan, new cases rose by 55 for the most since May.
With the pandemic still ongoing, the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday slashed its outlook for 2020 global growth to a record low estimate of -4.9%, down from its April estimate of -3%. US global growth is expected to fall by 8.0% in 2020, down from a previous forecast of -5.9%, before rising by 4.5% in 2021.
On Thursday, market participants are set to receive US economic data reports including the Labor Department’s weekly print on new unemployment insurance claims. Another more than 1.3 million Americans are expected to have filed new jobless claims for the week ended June 20, for a fourteenth straight week of new unemployment claims topping one million.
The Census Bureau will also releases its preliminary report for May durable goods orders Thursday morning, which is expected to show a rise of 10.5% following April’s 17.7% decline – the biggest drop since 2014. The third print on first-quarter US GDP is also slated for release Thursday morning, which is expected to remain unchanged at a 5.0% quarter over quarter, annualized drop.
—
6:05 p.m. ET: Stock futures slightly higher after selloff
Here were the main moves at the start of the overnight session for U.S. equity futures, as of 6:05 p.m. ET:
-
S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,051.5, up 2.5 points or 0.07%
-
Dow futures (YM=F): 25,421.00, up 28 points, or 0.11%
-
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 10,020.75, up 10 points, or 0.1%
—
Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and reddit.
Find live stock market quotes and the latest business and finance news
For tutorials and information on investing and trading stocks, check out Cashay