US stock futures traded slightly higher in early trading prior to the market opening, after closing lower the previous session.
US stock exchanges were closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday. The CEO of AstraZeneca plc (NYSE: LON: AZN ) announced the probability that the pharmaceutical company will conduct a new global test of its coronavirus vaccine, this after preliminary results of its trial showed an efficacy of 62 percentage points for a complete dosing regimen.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 55 points to 29,883, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 6.25 points to 3,633.50. Likewise, the Nasdaq 100 index futures advanced 41.75 points to 12,194.
The United States is the country with the highest number of cases of infections and deaths from coronavirus in the world, having a total number of infections that exceeds 12,883,840 and approximately 263,450 deaths. India has confirmed around 9,309,780 cases, while Brazil’s record exceeds 6,204,220 cases.
Oil prices were mixed as Brent crude futures rallied 0.7% to trade at $ 48.11 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures lost 0.9% to trade at 45 , $ 31 per barrel.
The Energy Information Administration stated that crude oil inventories in the United States posted a decline of 0.754 million barrels in the week ending November 20, compared to an increase of 0.768 million in the previous period.
In the European markets segment there was a mainly upward trend today. The Spanish Ibex index improved its price by 0.2%, the STOXX Europe 600 on the other hand, fell 0.1%, the CAC 40 of France advanced 0.3%, the DAX 30 of Germany experienced a rebound of 0.2% and London’s FTSE 100 posted a 0.7% drop.
The French economy presented an expansion of 18.7% quarterly during the third quarter compared to an unprecedented fall of 13.8% during the previous period, while industrial production prices increased 0.1% in the month of October. Import prices in Germany decreased by 3.9% annually in October.
On the other hand, Asian markets were mixed in today’s session. The Nikkei 225 in Japan was trading 0.4% to the upside, while the Shanghai composite index improved by 1.14%, the index Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.28% and the BSE Sensex in India experienced a decline of 0.2%.
Australia’s S & P / ASX 200 lost 0.5%. The profits made by industrial companies in China saw an annual increase of 0.7% between the months of January to October.
Walt Disney Co (NYSE: NYSE: DIS ) declared plans to lay off 32,000 workers, more than the 28,000 it had announced in September.
Y-mAbs Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: YMAB) announced that the Food and Drug Administration has approved its drug DANYELZA for the treatment of neuroblastoma.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: NASDAQ: AMZN ) confirmed its plan to provide more than $ 500 million in vacation pay to its front-line employees in the United States.
Finally, JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd (NYSE: JKS) agreed to sell its 50% stake in the Abu Dhabi power plant Sweihan.
