S&P500 and Dow futures retreat as coronavirus cases spike; Tesla surges

New York (Nov 17)  Futures tied to the S&P 500 and the Dow paused on Tuesday, a day after the indexes notched record closing highs, while Nasdaq 100 futures were boosted by a jump in Tesla on the prospect of the electric-car maker’s shares joining the S&P 500.

Tesla Inc TSLA.O soared 12.4% premarket in anticipation of a $51 billion trade by index funds adjusting their holdings when the company is added to the benchmark S&P 500 in December.

The S&P 500 and the Dow logged all-time closing highs on Monday after Moderna Inc's MRNA.O promising COVID-19 vaccine data boosted hopes of an economic recovery, overshadowing spiking coronavirus cases across the country.

New Jersey, California and Iowa imposed fresh restrictions as the pandemic reached its most perilous point yet in the United States, threatening to worsen as the colder weather sets in.

At 06:37 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were down 0.52% and S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were down 0.46%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 0.21%.

Drug retailers such as Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA.O tumbled 10%, while CVS Health Corp CVS.N fell 6.4% after Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O launched an online pharmacy for delivering prescription medications in the U.S.

Retail earnings are in focus this week as the third-quarter earnings season enters its tail end. Walmart Inc WMT.N rose about 1% after posting a bigger-than-expected increase in quarterly same-store sales.

Reuters