US pre-open: Futures point to small gains for holiday-shortened session
Wall Street futures had stocks opening slightly higher ahead of the bell on Friday's shortened session after traders took a day off to celebrate Thanksgiving.
As of 1230 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.17%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.18% and 0.36% firmer, respectively.
The Dow closed 173.77 points lower on Wednesday despite the Trump administration finally signalling its willingness to begin the transition process for President-elect Joe Biden.
US markets will shut for trading at 1800 GMT on Friday in recognition of the Thanksgiving long weekend and to allow Americans to take advantage of Black Friday sales across the nation.
CMC Markets' David Madden said: "The US stock market reopens today for a half-day but volatility is likely to be quiet across the board – it is typically the case following Thanksgiving.
"The excitement that we saw at the start of the week with respect to the progress made by AstraZeneca-Oxford University on their Covid-19 vaccine and the hopes that President Trump will leave office quietly in January will probably be the main points the week."
Online retail giant Amazon will undoubtedly be in focus as a result of the day's Black Friday sales, as will the likes of Walmart and Target, while news that AstraZeneca will run an additional global trial to try and confirm the efficacy of its low dose/full dose regimen was also drawing some investor attention.
No major data points or corporate earnings were scheduled for release on Friday