Dow and S&P 500 futures were trading with a modest gain ahead of the cash open Tuesday after setting record highs on Monday, as Wall Street draws support from a two-year high in Brent crude oil futures and constructive gains across Europe. Attention now shifts to the Federal Open Market Committee, which begins its final policy meeting for the year. The FOMC will announce their policy directive Wednesday at 2 pm ET.
Brent crude oil futures broke through $65 for the first time since 2015 in the wake of the closure of the vital Forties North Sea pipeline due to a widening crack. West Texas Intermediate crude traded higher in tandem, setting up energy stocks for sizable gains ahead of the open.
European shares were buoyed by a significant merger in the tech sector with France's Atos offering $5 billion for the Netherland's Gemalto, as well as gains in the energy complex.
Economic data failed to dent the upward momentum in futures as the producer price index increased by 0.4% in November, above the consensus estimate for a 0.3% gain. Excluding the volatile food and fuel component, wholesale prices were up a better-than-expected 0.3%. The data will give the FOMC further ammunition to hike rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday.
At 2 pm ET, the Treasury is expected to report a $134.0 billion deficit in November.
-Dow Jones Industrial up 0.24%
-S&P 500 futures up 0.09%
-Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.02%
SENTIMENT
Nikkei down 0.32%
Hang Seng down 0.59%
Shanghai Composite down 1.24%
FTSE-100 up 0.25%
DAX-30 up 0.19%
PRE-MARKET SECTOR WATCH
(+/-) Large cap tech: Mixed
(+) Chip stocks: Higher
(+) Software stocks: Higher
(+) Hardware stocks: Higher
(-) Internet stocks: Lower
(+) Oil stocks: Higher
(+/-) Biotech stocks: Flat
(+) Drug stocks: Higher
(+) Financial stocks: Higher
(+/-) Retail stocks: Flat
(+) Industrial stocks: Higher
(+/-) Airlines: Flat
(+/-) Autos: Flat
UPSIDE MOVERS:
(+) PTI (+103.83%) Reported positive results across all three cystic fibrosis pipeline programs
(+) GLYC (+26.40%) Reported positive results from phase 1/2 trial of GMI-1271
(+) TNXP (+25.82%) Held a pre-IND meeting with FDA for Alzheimer's agitation study
DOWNSIDE MOVERS:
(-) PPHM (-20.37%) Will wind down R&D investments
(-) ARGX (-6.13%) Announced $150 million public offering
(-) OAS (-6.07%) Priced public offering, plans to buy 20,300 acres in Delaware Basin for $946 million
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
