Business Insider columnist Adam Lashinsky discusses the future of Big Tech in the markets.
U.S. stock futures had the major averages on track to contend with record highs at the opening bell as a flood of corporate earnings washed across Wall Street.
Continue Reading Below
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were trading higher by 58 points, or 0.19%, while S&P 500 futures were up 0.09% and Nasdaq futures were unchanged. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite finished in record territory on Monday while the Dow ended 0.7% below its own all-time peak.
Looking at stocks, Dow component Johnson & Johnson forecast 2021 profit ahead of Wall Street estimates and said it expects the results from its COVID-19 vaccine trial soon. The company’s experimental vaccine differs from the ones delivered by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Inc. in that it is a single shot instead of requiring two injections.
Fellow Dow component 3M Co. said its quarterly profit rose 43% year over year, boosted by the performance of its health care unit. However, the company’s full-year profit forecast fell short of Wall Street estimates.
Elsewhere, former Dow member General Electric Co. reported cash flow from industrial operations rose 4.8% from a year ago to $4.37 billion, outpacing its $2.5 billion forecast. The conglomerate said its industrial business will grow in the low-single digits in the current year.
Meanwhile, GameStop Corp. shares remain in focus after having soared 78% over the previous two sessions as short-sellers have been forced to cover their losing bets. The stock has climbed 285% since Jan. 12.
Shares of BlackBerry Ltd. are also under close watch, having surged 142% since Jan. 13 amid their own short squeeze.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Starbucks Corp. are among the companies set to report their quarterly results following the closing bell.
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil up 20 cents at $52.97 per barrel and gold down $2.50 at $1,852.70 per ounce.
In Europe, Germany’s DAX 30 paced the advance, trading up 1.95%, while France’s CAC 30 and Britain’s FTSE 100 were gained 1.36% and 0.85%, respectively.
Asian markets ended sharply lower across the board with Japan’s Nikkei 225 losing 0.96%, China’s Shanghai Composite index declining 1.51% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index sliding 2.55%.
