Stock Futures Point to Further Gains as Investors Hope for Tax Reform
New York (Feb 10) Stock futures traded higher Friday as investors hoped for U.S. tax reform soon and as oil prices gained.
S&P 500 futures rose 0.04%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures increased 0.09%, and Nasdaq futures gained 0.08%. All three indexes hit new records on Thursday after Donald Trump promised he would soon cut taxes for businesses.
"Lowering the overall tax burden on American business is big league. That's coming along very well," the president said at a meeting Thursday with airline and airport executives. "We're way ahead of schedule, I believe. And we're going to announce something I would say over the next two or three weeks that will be phenomenal in terms of tax."
White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, said Thursday the Trump administration plans to work with Congress to roll out a comprehensive tax plan "that will address both the business side of the tax ledger as well as the individual rates" and said the plan will be "something that we haven't seen since 1986."
Also positive for investors was Trump saying he would uphold the "One China" policy following a phone call with Xi Jinping, China's president.
Crude oil prices rose after the International Energy Agency reported Friday that OPEC members and the 11 non-OPEC countries -- which agreed to cut oil production by 1.2 million barrels a day in November -- largely have complied with the production cuts. The IEA reported "record initial compliance" of 90% from these countries, noting Saudi Arabia reduced production more than required.
"This first cut is certainly one of the deepest in the history of OPEC output cut initiatives," the IEA said, adding, "The oil market is very much in a wait-and-see mode."
West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.83% to $53.44 a barrel on Friday. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) gained 0.33% in premarket trading.
Mead Johnson ( MJN) shares rose 4.8% in premarket trading after Reckitt Benckiser ( RBGLY) reached a deal to purchase the U.S. baby formula company for $90 a share in cash, or a total of $17.9 billion, including net debt.
"The acquisition of Mead Johnson is a significant step forward in RB's journey as a leader in consumer health," said Rakesh Kapoor, Reckitt Benckiser's CEO. "With the Enfa family of brands, the world's leading franchise in infant and children's nutrition, we will provide families with vital nutritional support."
Expedia ( EXPE) shares fell 0.2% in premarket trading after the travel company swung to a profit in the fourth quarter but adjusted earnings came in below Wall Street estimates.
Nvidia ( NVDA) rose 0.6% in premarket trading after the visual computing company reported a 55% jump in quarterly revenue to $2.17 billion and showed double-digit growth in most of its business segments. Nvidia posted earnings of 99 cents a share, a 183% increase from the previous year, and surpassed Wall Street's estimates.
Activision Blizzard ( ATVI) shares popped 8.7% in premarket trading after the video game and personal computer developer reported revenue of $2.01 billion, up 49%. The company, which brought the Candy Crush Saga games last year, said profit of $254 million rose 60% from the prior year, while earnings of 33 cents a share jumped 57%.
The economic calendar in the U.S. on Friday includes export and import prices for January at 8:30 a.m. EST, and the preliminary University of Michigan Sentiment Index for February at 10 a.m.
Source: TheStreet
