Superior Stock Futures Edge on Unemployment Claims Data

Continued progress toward the approval of a $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package in the U.S. is bolstering sentiment, as investors hope it will further protect the economic impact of Covid-19 blockades. While some data has shown signs of improvement in the labor market, investors hope that the high numbers of claims for unemployment benefits will support the need for more stimulus.

Recent data showed that 793,000 Americans applied for first unemployment insurance in the week ending February 6. New orders for the previous week have been revised to 812,000.

“Obviously, there are still a significant number of jobs lost and there is clearly a need for more fiscal support,” said Shoqat Bunglawala, head of international multi-set solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, before the data was released.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the central bank will continue to stimulate the economy with low interest rates and heavy asset purchases as it focuses on the strength of the labor market. The US unemployment rate fell to 6.3% in January, from 6.7% a month earlier. This compares to an unemployment rate of 3.5% in February 2020, before the pandemic.

The corporate earnings season continues. Walt Disney will present profits after the markets close.

Broadly positive quarterly earnings supported the markets, investors said.

The “US earnings season has been really phenomenal,” said Daniel Morris, chief market strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management. “There are fundamental reasons for stocks to rise.”

Before the opening bell, the Zillow Group rose almost 13% after the home sales website reported a 27% increase in traffic to its websites in the fourth quarter and profits that exceeded expectations.

Kraft Heinz rose 2% after announcing fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations. Hormel Foods said it agreed to buy Kraft Heinz’s Nut Planters business for $ 3.35 billion in cash.

Bank of New York Mellon’s shares rose more than 2% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the country’s oldest bank will hold, transfer and issue bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on behalf of its asset management clients. Mastercard also gained more than 2% after the company said on Wednesday that it is preparing to support cryptocurrencies directly on its network this year.

Uber Technologies’ shares fell about 1% in the pre-market, after the San Francisco-based company’s revenue in 2020 showed that the coronavirus pandemic destroyed its main vehicle recovery operations.

In bond markets, the yield on the 10-year Treasury bill rose to 1.140%, from 1.113% on Thursday. Yields increase when prices fall.

Overseas, the Stoxx Europe 600 benchmark rose 0.4%.

Yield on 10-year Italian government bonds fell to almost an all-time low of 0.481% on Thursday, from 0.501% on Wednesday, according to data from Tradeweb.

Investors are more optimistic about Italy’s growth prospects since former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, widely credited with saving the euro during the region’s debt crisis over the past decade, was chosen to become the next Prime Minister of Italy.

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose nearly 0.5% at the close of trading, and Australia’s S & P / ASX 200 benchmark fell 0.1% below. The Japanese, Chinese and South Korean markets were closed due to holidays.

Write to Caitlin Ostroff at [email protected]