Finance

Stock futures gain slightly as market tries to snap 3-day losing streak

A man walks a dog in the shade away from the midday sun past the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) building in Manhattan, during hot weather in New York City, New York, U.S., August 11, 2020.

Mike Segar | Reuters

Stock futures were slightly higher on Friday as stocks attempt to snap a three-day losing streak.

Futures reversed losses as Pfizer said it would apply for emergency use of its coronavirus vaccine as soon as it reaches certain safety milestones that it expects to have in late November.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 61 points, or 0.21%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.2%. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.3%.

Those gains also came after Europe’s aviation regulator said Boeing’s 737 Max jet is safe to fly again. Boeing shares rose 3.8% in the premarket.

Investors were also awaiting the latest retail sales data for some direction.

Retail sales data, due Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET, will offer an update on the recovery in consumer spending. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect retail sales to rise by 0.7% in September, following a 0.6% rebound in August. Excluding autos, sales were expected to rise by 0.4%.

Major averages suffered their third straight day of losses on Thursday, their longest losing streak in nearly a month.

The Dow and the S&P 500 closed well off their lows Thursday, however, helped by strength in cyclical stocks including financials and real estate names.

“Value/cyclical stocks recouped some of their recent underperformance with strength in energy, autos, transports, non-essential retail, and financials.” Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge, said in a note on Thursday.

Stocks’ weakness this week came amid the uncertainties around further coronavirus stimulus as well as fears of a worsening pandemic around the world.

Lawmakers in Washington continued to send mix signals about progress toward a stimulus deal.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that the White House won’t let differences over funding targets for Covid-19 testing derail stimulus talks with top Democrats.

Later, President Donald Trump said that he would raise his offer for a stimulus package above his current level of $1.8 trillion. House Democrats have passed a $2.2 trillion bill.

Meanwhile, the spike in new coronavirus cases in Europe also kept investors on edge. The U.K. government announced plans to impose tougher coronavirus restrictions on London, while the French government declared a public health state of emergency earlier this week amid a surge in cases. Germany has also announced new rules to curb the spread of the virus.

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