Stock futures hugged the flat line Tuesday evening as investors awaited more updates on stimulus talks out of Congress and another batch of corporate earnings and economic data reports. During the regular session, the Nasdaq logged a fifth straight session of gains and closed at a record, and the S&P 500 and Dow rose for a third straight day.
Shares of Disney (DIS) rose in late trading, after the company reported mixed third-quarter results but unexpectedly eked out an adjusted profit per share despite broad-based business disruptions due to the pandemic. In a move to begin rolling out its backlog of films not yet released in theaters, Disney said it would release its live-action “Mulan” starting Sept. 4 on Disney+, with the streaming platform now boasting 60.5 million global subscribers.
Looking ahead, Wednesday is set to bring the first of several major economic data reports this week on the state of the labor market. The ADP National Employment Report is expected to show private employers added back a net 1.2 million payrolls in July, reflecting the labor market’s ongoing – if decelerating – improvement from April’s lows. Private payrolls had risen by 2.369 million in May.
However, the July report will also give a somewhat dated look at the job market in America, with the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to contain it still under way. Improvements in the labor market and in consumer health are expected to backslide in the absence of further stimulus measures from Congress.
To that end, discussions in Washington, D.C. remain a focal point, with talks between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, (D-Calif., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and administration officials having taken place Tuesday afternoon. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters Tuesday that the sides were “a long ways away from striking any kind of deal,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
Other lawmakers have expressed skepticism that the sides would be able to quickly convene on major sticking points. Last week, the $600 per week in enhanced federal unemployment benefits expired, leaving tens of millions of Americans stuck in the lapse as negotiators try and convene on the level and duration at which to extend this support. Disagreements as to the size of the overall package – with the Democratic plan topping $3 trillion in support and the Republican plan at $1 trillion – also lingered.
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Here were the main moves in equity markets, as of 6:02 p.m. ET:
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S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,299.75, down 0.25 points, or 0.01%
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Dow futures (YM=F): 26,744.00, up 27 points, or 0.1%
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Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 11,075.5, down 10.5 points, or 0.09%
A trader walks in front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on May 26, 2020 at Wall Street in New York City. – Wall Street stocks surged early May 26, 2020 on optimism about coronavirus vaccines as the New York Stock Exchange resumed physical floor trading for the first time since late March. About five minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.3 percent at 25,023.76. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 2.0 percent to 3,013.04, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.6 percent to 9,468.96.The gains came after a ceremony presided over by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who wore a mask as he rung the opening bell to signal the start of the day for traders, also clad in masks and separated by plexiglas. (Photo by Johannes EISELE / AFP) (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)
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