Futures are trading higher this morning, boosted by optimism over fiscal stimulus discussions- with airline stocks reflecting this bullish sentiment. S&P 500 futures are currently up 0.44% with Dow futures up 0.47%, and futures tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq index rising 0.51%.
Also coming up today is Thursday’s initial jobless claims number, with economists polled by Dow Jones guiding to 825,000 first-time claims for unemployment insurance, down from 837,000 the previous week.
Notably, JP Morgan is in the headlines this morning after announcing a $30 billion commitment to help address racial inequality. “We can do more and do better to break down systems that have propagated racism and widespread economic inequality, especially for Black and Latinx people. It’s long past time that society addresses racial inequities in a more tangible, meaningful way” stated CEO Jamie Dimon.
Turning to the latest Covid-19-related updates: Shares in Regeneron are advancing 4.9% in Thursday’s early morning trading after the company filed for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) with the US FDA for its REGN-COV2 investigational antibody cocktail for the treatment of Covid-19. Last week, Regeneron confirmed that President Trump was given a single 8 gram dose of REGN-COV2. “I felt good immediately” tweeted Trump.
Similarly, Eli Lilly has also revealed that it has now submitted its own EUA request to the FDA for its LY-CoV555 monotherapy in higher-risk patients who have been recently diagnosed with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. Shares are up 2% this morning, after closing 3.3% higher yesterday.
Meanwhile Gilead Sciences has inked a joint procurement agreement with the European Commission for the supply of up to 500,000 treatment courses of veklury, the brand name for remdesivir, its antiviral drug for the treatment of Covid-19. GILD, which is up 1.5% in pre-market trading, says it is on track to produce more than 2 million treatment courses of remdesivir this year.
Surging ahead in Thursday’s pre-market session we have Alphatec Holdings, now up 26%, after the medical device company surprised investors with preliminary third-quarter sales that exceeded analysts’ expectations. ATEC now expects Q3 revenues of $40.7M – $41.1M, above the Street consensus of $30.98M, according to preliminary results.
Also on the earnings front, United Microelectronics has disclosed encouraging September sales growth of 34.75% to NT$14.53B. That’s with year-to-date sales soaring 23.67% to NT$131.52B. Shares are now up 7% in pre-market trading. Taiwan Semiconductor has also experienced a 29% year-to-date sales boost to NT$977.72B. Its September revenue rose 4% higher on a month-by-month basis, sending shares up 2% this morning.
