US pre-open: Futures point to positive session amid ongoing vaccine optimism
Wall Street futures had stocks opening higher ahead of the bell on Wednesday amid an ongoing rotation out of technology stocks and into cyclical names.
As of 1225 GMT, Dow Jones futures were 0.64% higher, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.71% and 0.89% firmer, respectively.
The Dow Jones closed 262.95 points higher on Tuesday as investors' remained optimistic around a potential return to normal economic activity as a result of Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine candidate.
In focus ahead of the bell, the US once again beat it prior day record for new daily Covid-19 cases, with the seven-day average hitting 108,964, according to Johns Hopkins University, a 37% increase week-on-week.
In addition to the positive news around Pfizer and BioNTech's potential vaccine, Eli Lilly's antibody drug was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use and could be used to treat mild-to-moderate cases of Covid-19 in patients over the age of 12.
SpreadEx's Connor Campbell said: "The Dow Jones is currently heading for a 100 point increase when trading starts stateside, lifting it to 29,540 as it continues to make eyes at its all-time highs. And with little else to go off – the markets seem to be in a post-election, post-vaccine news lull – that could be enough to generate some positive action this afternoon.
"The Dow’s prospective gains also continue to suggest that investors aren’t panicking about Trump’s various legal challenges to the election result, despite Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's 'joke' that there will be a 'smooth transition to a second Trump administration'. It may not sound like much, but it's another sign that Republicans, and the current administration, aren't going to do a conciliatory about-face any time soon."
On the macro front, mortgage application in the United States decreased by 0.50% in the week ended 6 November, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.
No major corporate announcements were slated for release on Wednesday.