Stock futures opened the session higher on Sunday night as investors largely brushed off a steady rise in coronavirus cases in some U.S. regions and looked forward to the start of the corporate earnings season.
Several states registered a spike in fresh cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, while areas of the country struggled to keep new infections at bay. Florida reported a record of 15,300 new cases of the virus on Sunday, the highest one-day total for any U.S. state so far during the pandemic, while new fatalities in the state dropped by over 50 percent compared to the previous day to 45.
U.S. stock index futures climbed around late on the day, in the midst of a record surge in coronavirus cases. As of 9:15 p.m. Eastern Time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures, which had rallied about 180 points earlier during overnight sessions, soared about 100 points, or 0.5 percent, while the S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures were both slightly up.
The pandemic stock market advance had a solid run last week. The Nasdaq and growth stocks rose to new peaks. Megacaps Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon.com (AMZN), and Apple (AAPL) continue to surge sharply, while Netflix (NFLX) and Tesla (TSLA) stock were up as well.
Domino's Pizza (DPZ), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and Netflix (NFLX) were among the notable groups that kicked off the earnings season, with Domino's stock getting a 'Buy' rating late Friday.
Meanwhile, Tesla slashed the price of its Model Y crossover by $3,000, bringing the base type to $49,900. It is an indication of possible sluggish demand for the brand-new Model Y. Late Friday, the electric vehicle maker set its yearly shareholder meeting and Battery Day for Sept. 22.
In Asia, stocks opened higher and U.S. equity futures rallied prior to the start of an earnings season that will provide more signs on how companies are handling the pandemic. Treasuries moved up.
Japanese stocks climbed about 1.5 percent, with gains also seen in Australia and South Korea. S&P 500 futures inched up, while early movements in the currency markets were flat. Oil was down, and gold held steady near the $1,800 per ounce mark.
With global equities trading near their highest level since February, investors are awaiting what companies have to say with regards to their profit projections. New coronavirus outbreaks in some areas of the world are causing partial lockdown restrictions to be reimposed, sparking worries about the likely course of global rebound.
