US pre-open: Futures slip as Trump tests positive for Covid-19
Wall Street futures had stocks opening lower ahead of the bell on Friday after Donald Trump announced both he and the First Lady had tested positive for Covid-19.
As of 1230 BST, Dow futures were down 1.21%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 1.29% and 1.84% lower, respectively.
The Dow Jones closed 35.20 points higher on Thursday as the fourth quarter of 2020 got underway on a positive note for stocks amid a slew of data points.
Trump's revelation that he had contracted the coronavirus weighed on sentiment before the open, adding a heightened degree of uncertainty to the upcoming US general election in November, stimulus negotiations and the pace at which Covid-19 containment measures may be relaxed across the country.
White House physician Dr Sean Conley said Trump and the First Lady were "both well" and stated they planned to "remain at home within the White House during their convalescence". Conley added that the president was expected to "continue carrying out his duties without disruption" while recovering.
AJ Bell's Russ Mould said: "Donald Trump catching coronavirus has put the markets in a mild state of disarray. First, the President of the United States becoming ill creates a sense of instability for markets in general. Second, it raises the question of how the Presidential election will play out – has Joe Biden also been affected, will Trump be well enough to continue the debating while self-isolating, and will the elections be postponed?
"One could view the market reaction as investors increasing the probability that Biden will win the election. His intention to raise taxes will not be good for corporate profits and therefore a negative for the stock market."
Also in focus was news that the House had passed a $2.2trn Democratic Covid-19 stimulus bill overnight. However, while Republicans continue to oppose the package, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin agreed to continue to hold talks on reaching a bipartisan agreement.
On the macro front, non farm payrolls data for September will be released at 1330 BST, as will unemployment rate figures for last month, while the ISM's New York Index for September will come out at 1445 BST and the University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for September and August factory orders numbers will follow at 1500 BST.
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia head Patrick Harker will deliver a speech at 1400 BST.