BEAT HeartBeam Inc

By Mischa Frankl-Duval 

Here's what we are watching as markets kick into gear Friday.

-- U.S. stock futures traded close to the flatline as investors monitored whether Covid-19 infections and worsening economic data would push lawmakers to cement a coronavirus-aid package.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 rose 0.1%, suggesting the benchmark stocks gauge will open relatively unchanged after notching another record close Thursday. Futures tied to the technology-focused Nasdaq-100 were flat.

Read our full market wrap here.

What's Coming Up

Darden Restaurants is due to report quarterly earnings before markets open. Nike will give its update after the closing bell.

The Conference Board publishes its index of leading economic indicators at 10 a.m. ET.

Market Movers to Watch

-- FedEx shares dropped 2.9% premarket despite the company reporting higher revenue and profits.

-- Remote medical technology company BioTelemetry jumped almost 16% after Philips agreed to acquire it. -- Cloud contact center software provider Five9 rose 4.4% premarket. Morgan Stanley yesterday raised its price target on the stock.

-- Tesla shares were flat in offhours trading, having risen more than 5% on Thursday. The company enters the S&P 500 index on Monday, a move that will likely trigger frenzied trading.

Market Fact

The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all reached both intraday highs and closing records Thursday. Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors notched gains, with some of the biggest advances coming out of the health-care, technology and real-estate sectors.

Chart of the Day

Companies controlled by private-equity firms recently have borrowed heavily to pay dividends to their owners. The payouts can load their companies' balance sheets with heavy debt at a precarious moment.

Must Reads Since You Went to Bed

Infrastructure-Investment Binge Is Set to Continue -- With or Without Washington

For America's Economy This Winter, a Covid Freeze and Then a Vaccine Thaw

Eaton's CFO Looks Back on 71 Acquisitions, 50 Sales Over His Tenure

U.S. Blacklists China's Top Chip Maker, Escalating Tech Fight

How Covid-19 Has Reshaped the Economy's Balance Sheet

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 18, 2020 07:17 ET (12:17 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.