Gap, Deere, HP, Nikola: What to Watch When the Market Opens Today

By Mischa Frankl-Duval 

Here's what we are watching as markets kick into gear Wednesday:

-- U. S. stock futures wavered a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average breached 30000 for the first time, and as investors looked ahead to a packed day of economic data. Futures tied to the S&P 500 were down 0.1%, and Dow futures edged 0.2% lower. Nasdaq-100 futures were up 0.3%.

-- About 778,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits in the week ended Nov. 21., up from 742,000 a week earlier. Economists had expected unemployment claims to edge down to 733,000.

-- U.S. durable-goods orders grew 1.3% in October, increasing for the sixth consecutive month. That was slower than the rate of 1.5% that economists had expected.

-- What's coming up. U. S. consumer spending has been a driving force for the recovery and economists are forecasting the sixth straight increase for household outlays in October. Data on personal spending will be released at 10 a.m.

-- The Federal Reserve releases minutes from its Nov. 4-5 meeting, a relatively uneventful session that highlighted risks to the economy from the pandemic.

Market Movers to Watch

-- Deere rose 3.1% premarket after the farm-equipment maker reported higher-than-expected net sales.

-- Gap fell 12.7% premarket after the clothing retailer's profit came in below Wall Street's expectations. Executives cautioned that rising Covid-19 infections could slow visits to stores during the critical holiday shopping period.

-- HP climbed 5.2% after the computing equipment maker's revenue beat analysts' expectations.

-- Fellow PC maker Dell rose 0.4% after reporting per-share profit that came in ahead of analysts' expectations.

-- Electric-truck maker Nikola plunged 15% before the bell.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 25, 2020 09:25 ET (14:25 GMT)

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