Dow Futures Add 4% Today, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Futures Are Also in Green

UTC by Teuta Franjkovic · 3 min read
Dow Futures Add 4% Today, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Futures Are Also in Green
Photo: Depositphotos

Dow Jones futures and S&P 500 futures have changed little this morning, while Nasdaq futures rose modestly after California issued a “stay-at-home” order to slow the Covid-19 spread.

U.S. stock futures started good on early Friday morning, showing potential for a positive opening after an also positive Thursday session. Investors are obviously still watching over coronavirus developments. The Donald Trump administration proposed an $850 billion stimulus package to stabilize the economy, which some claim has already entered a recession.

European equities also surged at the start of the session as central banks moved to ease monetary policy further amid the global pandemic. According to the latest data, over 246,000 worldwide contracted COVID-19.

The Dow futures climbed 759 points today at 4:25 am ET, while the S&P 500 advanced 3.26%. At the same time, the Nasdaq 100 surged 4.93%.

Yesterday, The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.95% up, led by McDonald’s Corp (NYSE: MCD) and the Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS) that rose 8.89% and 6.90% respectively. The Nasdaq gained 1.58 % as Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) jumped 18.39%, while the S&P 500 increased by 1.15 % at the same time. The energy sector pushed stocks higher, gaining 6.75%, as oil posted its largest one-day percent gain in history.

Also in Thursday’s session, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ: AMD), Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), DexCom Inc (NASDAQ: DXCM), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Adobe Inc (NASDAQ: ADBE) all found bullish support. AMD stock, Nvidia stock and DexCom stock finally moved from their 200-day moving averages. Amazon stock and Adobe stock reclaimed their 200-day lines.

A Bit of Relief after Extremely Volatile Week

So, we can say Thursday came as a bit of a relief after an extremely volatile week. On Wednesday, U.S. stocks finished the session deeply in the red, with the Dow Jones losing briefly more than 10% at one point, while the trading on the New York Stock Exchange has been temporarily halted, triggered by the drop in S&P 500 of more than 7%.

However, at the 7-day level, the Dow is still down by 13.36%. The 30-stock index stays at 32% below its all-time high level from February, while the S&P 500 is 29% below its high.

Be it as it may, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) President Stacey Cunningham said yesterday that there are no plans to close the stock markets in the United States. Cunningham added that the trading day will not be shortened either, despite high volatility in the markets.

Fed’s Support Vital but Investors Still Not Convinced

Even though the Fed has announced a number of stimulus measures, it seems investors still aren’t as confident as they should be. Just for your reminder, the Fed introduced two emergency rate cuts in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, bringing the target range for the federal funds rate to 0%-0.25%. The bank also announced a number of other measures in an effort to support the economy.

New York Life Investments’ Lauren Goodwin commented:

“Market volatility will persist until the government – fiscal or monetary – provides a backstop to stressed corporates and small & medium businesses. Support of those functions is vital to ensuring the economic disruption of covid-19, though severe, is temporary.”

Yesterday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti ordered the city’s inhabitants not to leave their homes unless it is “absolutely essential” in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The decision comes shortly after California Governor Gavin Newsom warned that up to 25.5 million, or 56% of people in the state are expected to contract the virus within the next eight weeks.

Business News, Commodities & Futures, Indices, Market News, News
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