U.S. Stocks Mixed Amid Uncertainty Over Stimulus Timing

Traders Wait For The Outcome Of Stimulus Negotiations

S&P 500 futures are mixed in premarket trading as traders continue to wait for the results of stimulus negotiations between Republicans and Democrats.

Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated that she was optimistic that the deal would be done but it was unclear whether negotiations would be completed before the November election.

The recent trading sessions were nervous as stocks were unable to find direction due to stimulus uncertainty. Most likely, the market will remain choppy during the last two trading sessions of this week.

Tesla Beats Earnings Estimates

Tesla reported its third-quarter results yesterday after the market close. The company’s revenue increased to $8.77 billion while non-GAAP earnings of $0.76 per share significantly beat analyst estimates.

The company maintained its target of 500,000 deliveries in 2020 and confirmed its plans to produce 20 million vehicles by 2030. Many analysts were happy with the report and the subsequent conference call, and upgraded the stock.

Currently, Tesla shares are gaining more than 4% in premarket trading. It remains to be seen whether the optimism of Tesla investors will be shared by investors of other high-flying stocks as the market remains focused on U.S. stimulus negotiations.

Initial Jobless Claims Decrease To 787,000

The U.S. has just provided Initial Jobless Claims and Continuing Jobless Claims reports.

The Initial Jobless Claims report indicated that 787,000 Americans filed for unempoyment benefits in a week. The analyst consensus called for Initial Jobless Claims of 860,000. Continuing Jobless Claims decreased from 10.02 million to 8.37 million compared to analyst consensus of 9.5 million.

The U.S. employment reports were better than expected but the initial market reaction was muted. Perhaps, traders are worried that better-than-expected job reports will have a negative impact on the timing of U.S. stimulus package.

Later, U.S. will provide Existing Home Sales data for September. Analysts expect that Existing Home Sales will increase by 5% after growing by 2.4% in August. The housing market is projected to show decent growth as consumer demand for housing remains healthy.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.