U.S. Futures Mixed; Consolidation Ahead of Data Deluge, Holiday

U.S. stocks are seen opening mixed Wednesday, consolidating after a record-breaking session on the back of increasing political clarity and vaccine optimism. There are a number of important data points to digest ahead of Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday.

At 7:05 AM ET (1205 GMT), the Dow Futures contract fell 31 points, or 0.1%, while S&P 500 Futures traded largely flat and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 43 points, or 0.4%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.5% to close above the 30,000 level for the first time on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 gained 1.6%, to 3,635.41, also a record high. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.3%.

Positive coronavirus vaccine news and emerging political certainty in the U.S., with President-elect Joe Biden Tuesday commending the ‘sincere’ cooperation from the White House in helping his transition to power, have prompted strong gains on Wall Street.

Influential investment banks JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) see further hefty gains ahead, with both now forecasting the benchmark S&P 500 gaining a further 25% at least over the next two years.

This is despite many U.S. states instigating new restrictions to try and slow the recent swell in infections ahead of Thanksgiving, with millions traveling to gather with family and friends.

This travel raises the possibility of a “surge superimposed on a surge,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert on Tuesday.

There is a vast data dump scheduled for later Wednesday, with the highlights being the second print of third-quarter GDP, the weekly initial jobless claims, durable goods, new home sales and both income and spending numbers for October.

Deere (NYSE:DE) is the highlight of the earnings calendar, but Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL), Hewlett Packard (NYSE:HPE), Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) and Gap (NYSE:GPS) will also be in focus after they released quarterly figures after the close Tuesday.

Oil prices continued to push higher Wednesday, despite data pointing to a build in U.S. crude supplies, as traders look for a recovery in global demand.

U.S. crude inventories rose by 3.8 million barrels last week, according to an estimate released Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute, with the official government report due out later in the session.

U.S. crude futures traded 0.5% higher at $45.12 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract rose 0.5% to $48.02, with both benchmarks above the $45 mark for the first time since March.

Elsewhere, gold futures fell 0.3% to $1,810.55/oz, earlier dropping through the $1,800 level for the first time since July, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.1883.