U.S. Stock Futures Tick Up as Tech Shares Extend Rally
September 15 2020 - 9:39AM
Dow Jones News
By Anna Hirtenstein
U.S. stock futures ticked up Tuesday as tech shares continued to
climb in the wake of a flurry of M&A activity in the
sector.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 advanced 0.9%, signaling a rise
in U.S. equity markets after the opening bell. Contracts linked to
the Nasdaq rose 1.1%, pointing to another day of gains for
technology stocks.
A wave of multibillion-dollar deals emerging earlier this week
from well-known tech companies could boost stock benchmarks for a
second day, underscoring the outsized role of a handful of giant
firms in U.S. equity markets.
"There's been exuberance in the tech sector and valuations are
high, but M&A means some people think there's still some assets
that aren't overvalued, they may actually be undervalued," said
Ludovic Subran, chief economist at Allianz. "M&A can be
perceived as a sign of undervaluation" and some people will be
buying.
Tech stocks continued to climb in premarket trading, extending
Monday's rally. Apple rose 1.9%, Tesla added 4.2% and Netflix was
up 1.7%. Nvidia shares advanced 2.6% after it said earlier this
week it would acquire chip designer Arm Holdings from SoftBank.
Industrial production figures for August, due at 9:15 a.m. ET,
are expected to show an increase, led by manufacturing output. The
data will be closely scrutinized by investors as an indicator of
the extent of the economic recovery in the world's largest
economy.
Earlier Tuesday, key economic statistics showed that China's
economic recovery accelerated in August. Retail sales in the Asian
nation returned to pre-coronavirus levels with their first month of
growth this year. Other major indicators, including factory
production, investment and property activity, all gathered pace,
signaling a strong rebound for the world's second-largest
economy.
"It paints a fairly robust picture of the Chinese economy," said
Sebastien Galy, a macro strategist at Nordea Asset Management.
"It's a solid positive surprise, but the data tells you more about
the message the Chinese government wants to give you."
The Shanghai Composite Index closed up 0.5%, and Hong Kong's
Hang Seng Index rose 0.4%. The yuan strengthened 0.5% against the
dollar in offshore trading, climbing to the highest level since May
2019.
The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.7% from an
anticipated boost in Chinese demand for European goods. The U.K.'s
FTSE 100 index climbed 1.1%, led by mining shares. Glencore added
3.4%, BHP Group was up 2.4% and Anglo American rose 2.6%.
In the U.S., "a lot of people will be looking to industrial
production to see if the economic recovery is picking up," Mr. Galy
said. "I wouldn't be surprised if we also see good numbers there,
there's a lot of pent-up demand in the U.S."
Gold rose 0.7% to $1,977.40 a troy ounce, the highest level in
nearly a month. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds ticked up
to 0.681%, from 0.669% on Monday.
Among European equities, Sweden's H&M Hennes & Mauritz
jumped more than 13% after the fashion retailer's third-quarter
preliminary pretax profit beat analysts' estimates.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles climbed 11.4% after the car maker
changed the terms of its merger with PSA Group to preserve cash.
Fiat Chrysler will pay a cash dividend of EUR2.9 billion,
equivalent to $3.44 billion, to shareholders, down from the
previously agreed EUR5.5 billion. PSA, which owns the Peugeot and
Citroën brands, agreed to distribute its $3.2-billion stake in car
parts supplier Faurencia to shareholders, instead of selling
it.
In U.S. premarket trading, NextEra Energy rose 7.1% after the
utility raised its outlook for next year and announced a stock
split.
Citigroup shares rose 1.2% premarket after Bloomberg reported
the bank will resume a job-cutting program, which it paused during
the pandemic.
Later in the day, FedEx will report quarterly earnings after
markets close. The global shipping company is considered an
economic bellwether, as its revenue growth may indicate higher
levels of business activity.
Write to Anna Hirtenstein at anna.hirtenstein@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 15, 2020 09:24 ET (13:24 GMT)
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