Fresh off last week’s record, Wall Street was poised to open with gains today, the Associated Press reports, as corporate earnings season kicks off. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.2%, and futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.4%.
Wall Street’s recent run-up has been driven in part by hopes for interest rate cuts, with U.S. inflation on the decline. Treasury yields have already relaxed significantly on these expectations, and that helped the stock market’s rally accelerate sharply in November. The Fed has hinted that rate cuts are coming, though some officials have indicated they may begin later than the market is hoping for.
Shares of farm giant Archer Daniels Midland tumbled 15% in premarket trading today after the company put its top financial executive on administrative leave and postponed the release of its annual earnings report, which was scheduled for Tuesday.
NuStar Energy climbed 26% after the company announced it was being acquired by Sunoco in a $7.3 billion all-stock deal. Sunoco slipped 3% before the bell.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 18 cents to $73.43 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 14 cents to $78.70 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar fell to 147.87 Japanese yen from 148.14 yen.
