U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday’s stock market. Optimism around an economic rebound in 2021 surpassed concerns around an expected surge in coronavirus infections during the Thanksgiving holiday.
Wall Street’s main indexes rose more than 10% in November as investors bet on a sooner-than-expected COVID-19 vaccine. Moreover, a calmer global trade under President-elect Joe Biden which can set the S&P 500 for its best November ever.
A rotation into sectors such as industrials and financials are deemed to benefit from an economic recovery. This has also powered the Dow to record highs and put it on track for its biggest monthly gain since 1987.
Both the indexes pulled back on Wednesday, though, as data showed a stuttering recovery in the labor market. This is sending investors back to the perceived safety of technology heavyweights, including Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc.
By 7:02 a.m. ET, reopening after the Thanksgiving holiday, the Dow e-minis were up 0.18%. The S&P 500 e-minis inched up 0.20%, and the Nasdaq 100 e-minis climbed 0.37%.
Gains were capped by U.S. hospitalizations for COVID-19 reaching a record of more than 89,000 on Wednesday. Experts have warned that holiday gatherings could lead to another spike in cases and deaths.
In Europe, stock markets were subdued by uncertainties. These were doubts around the effectiveness of AstraZeneca, COVID-19 vaccine potentially hindering chances of the shot getting speedy regulatory approvals.
Trading volumes are expected to be light as the U.S. stock market closes early on Friday for the long weekend.
Stocks on the Move
Walt Disney Co edged lower in premarket trading following an increase in its planned layoffs due to the pandemic.
U.S. listed shares of online entertainment services company iQIYI Inc fell 2.6%. This came after reports that Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd had put on hold talks. That was to buy a controlling stake in the video streaming service.
India stocks were lower after the close on Friday. Losses in the Technology, IT and Public Sector Undertakings sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NSE, the Nifty 50 fell 0.14%, while the BSE Sensex 30 index declined 0.25%.
The best performers of the session on the Nifty 50 were Tata Motors Ltd. They rose 2.82% or 4.90 points to trade at 178.65 at the close.
Asian Paints Ltd. added 2.01% or 43.25 points to end at 2198.55. Hero MotoCorp Ltd gained 2.00% or 60.45 points to 3085.00 in late trade.
