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U.S. stock index futures pointed to further gains on Tuesday, as the market awaits any further news on the Federal Reserve’s plans for tapering its bond buying program at the annual Jackson Hole central bankers symposium on Friday.
What major stock indexes are doing
-
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average
YM00,
+0.14%
rose 64 points, or 0.2%, at 35,345. -
S&P 500 futures
ES00,
+0.13%
rose 0.2% to reach 4,483.75, a gain of 8 points. -
Nasdaq-100
NQ00,
+0.19%
futures rose 0.3% to 15,344.25, an advance of 39.75 points.
On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
rose 215 points, the S&P 500
SPX,
rose 0.9% to its second-highest level ever, and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
jumped 1.6% to a fresh record high.
What’s driving the market?
Markets looked to extend their advance on Tuesday helped by news Monday that U.S. regulators granted full approval for Pfizer-BioNTech’s
PFE,
BNTX,
Covid vaccine which may mean more employer mandates to help halt the spread of the delta variant, given signs the coronavirus delta variant may be slowing economic growth as seen in the U.S. Markit August flash composite purchasing managers index which showed a drop to an eight-month low. The U.S. Defense Department and New York City schools immediately introduced vaccine mandates for all employees,
“For now, dips continue to be shallow and rapidly bought into, with the 50-day moving average remaining well-defended by equity bulls, and the market printing new all-time highs with regularity,” said Michael Brown, senior market analyst at Caxton FX.
Investors are also awaiting the Jackson Hole Federal Reserve gathering where Chair Jerome Powell will speak on Friday, and were encouraged by reports that U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen supports the reappointment of Powell to lead the central bank for another four years.
The U.S. corporate and economics calendar for Tuesday is on the thin side, with new-home sales data due for release at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Which companies are in focus?
- Best Buy Co. Inc. BBY shares rose in Tuesday premarket trading after the consumer electronics retailer reported second-quarter earnings that beat expectations and raised its same-store sales guidance for the year.
- Shares of Mister Car Wash Inc. MCW dropped 1.7% in premarket trading Tuesday, after the carwash company announced a secondary offering of 12 million shares by selling stockholders.
- Shares of Medtronic PLC MDT tacked on 0.6% in premarket trading Tuesday, after the medical device maker reported fiscal first-quarter profit and sales that beat expectations, and nudged up its full-year earnings outlook, citing a strong recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on elective procedures.
- Shares of Cigna Corp. CI rose 1.4% in premarket trading Tuesday, after the insurer announced a $2.0 billion accelerated stock repurchase (ASR) agreement with Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase Bank.
- Advance Auto Parts Inc. AAP reported Tuesday reported fiscal second-quarter profit that topped expectations, but net sales that matched and same-store sales that came up shy, although the full-year outlook was raised.
