US pre-open: Stocks to edge up as investors put aside tax bill concerns
US futures pointed to a positive open on Wall Street on Friday as investors brushed aside worries about the passage of the US tax bill.
At 1210 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.3%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were 0.2% firmer.
Stocks ended in the red a day earlier after Republican Florida senator Marco Rubio said he would not vote for the package without changes to some tax credits, prompting concerns that the tax plan being drafted may be about to unravel.
IG analyst Joshua Mahony said: “The US tax reforms are back in the headlines, with the Republican majority margins being squeezed thanks to the unexpected loss in Alabama by Senate nominee Roy Moore earlier this week.
“Meanwhile, with Senator Marco Rubio insisting that he would only endorse the reforms if the child tax credit element was amended, there are clear hurdles that still need to be overcome. Interestingly, while many of Trump’s policies have hit resistance, the tax reforms aimed at benefitting rich US Republican donors are seemingly being pushed through at a lightening pace, with the Republican majority gained in both house and senate proving pivotal. While the expectation of lower corporation taxes has boosted US stocks to record highs, the unchanged FOMC estimates for economic growth in the long term highlights that the economic boost to such measures could be short term in nature.”
In corporate news, Adobe Systems was up in pre-market trade following better-than-expected earnings late on Thursday.
Costco Wholesale was likely to be in focus after the retailer’s first-quarter numbers late on Thursday surpassed analysts’ expectations.
On the macroeconomic calendar, the New York Empire State manufacturing index is at 1330 GMT, while industrial production figures are at 1415 GMT.