US open: Futures mixed as rising Covid-19 cases offset positive vaccine headlines
Wall Street stocks were mixed at the bell on Thursday as more positive vaccine news was obscured by the ever-growing number of fresh Covid-19 cases across the US and a surprise increase in jobless claims.
As of 1525 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.33% at 29,341.48 and the S&P 500 was 0.27% weaker at 3,558.27, while the S&P 500 was 0.19% firmer at 11,823.82.
The Dow opened 96.94 points lower on Thursday, extending losses recorded in the previous session after the US coronavirus death toll topped 250,000.
Headlines doing the rounds early on Thursday were quite mixed ahead of the bell, with Pfizer announcing that a final analysis showed that its vaccine candidate was 95% effective against the coronavirus at the same time that New York City announced that it would closing schools as a result of the rising number of new cases which have now topped 161,160 in the US, up 26% week-on-week, according to Johns Hopkins University.
However, losses were kept somewhat in check after preliminary studies on the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca's vaccine candidate showed a similar immune response among all adults.
Also in focus on Thursday was this week's all-important initial jobless claims data from the Department of Labor, which rose by 31,000 to 742,000 over the week ended 14 November - worse than the expected print of 710,000 on the Street and far from the pre-pandemic average of 200,000 weekly claims.
Secondary unemployment claims, or those which were not being filed for the first time, did continue falling at a steady clip, dropping by 429,000 to 6.37m.
Still on the macro front, the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index edged lower to 26.3 in November, down from 32.3 in October but better than the expected print of 22.
Elsewhere, the Conference Board's leading index for the US increased by 0.7% in October to 108.2 following a 0.7% increase in September and a 1.6% increase in August.
Lastly, sales of existing homes in October soared well past expectations, rising 4.3% month-on-month and 26.6% annually, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Still to come, the Kansas Fed's manufacturing index will be released at 1600 GMT.
In the corporate space, Macy's same-store sales fell 20% amid the Covid-19 pandemic, while Williams-Sonoma and Haynes International will post earnings after the close.