U.S. Stocks Set To Open Higher As Traders Cheer Progress In Airline Aid Talks

Airline Aid Package In Focus

While Republicans and Democrats failed to reach consensus on a comprehensive coronavirus aid package deal, they look ready to discuss aid for airlines.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have already met to discuss the possibility of a new bill worth $25 billion to help airlines avoid mass layoffs.

As the recovery of the job market has slowed down after the initial strong rebound, lawmakers want to prevent mass layoffs in the airline industry.

Stock traders look happy with a prospect of a new $25 billion package despite the fact that is miniscule compared to recent proposals of Republicans and Democrats which ranged between $1.5 trillion and $2.2 trillion.

Most likely, the market wants to see that Democrats and Republicans can manage to find consensus on any deal. If the $25 billion package deal is signed, traders will likely interpret it as a signal that chances for a comprehensive deal are increasing.

S&P 500 futures are gaining ground in premarket trading as investors are happy with any progress on the stimulus front.

Initial Jobless Claims Increased To 840,000

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

Initial Jobless Claims report indicated that 840,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits in a week. Analysts expected that Initial Jobless Claims would decline from 837,000 to 820,000.

Meanwhile, Continuing Jobless Claims report was much better than expected. Continuing Jobless Claims declined to 10.98 million compared to analyst consensus of 11.4 million.

The situation in the job market remains tense but the decline of Continuing Jobless Claims is a welcome development.

Oil Rallies As Norwegian Oil Workers’ Strike Is Set To Escalate

Oil managed to get back above the $40 level on news that a strike in Norway may get bigger next week. According to Equinor, Johan Severdrup oilfield may get shut on October 14, 2020. If this happens, oil supply would decrease by 470,000 barrels per day (bpd).

This is welcome news for oil-related stocks which have mostly failed to continue their rebound from lows in recent trading sessions.

Currently, oil majors like Exxon Mobil and BP are gaining ground in premarket trading.

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