Trump meets Zelenskiy, says Putin wants war to end, mulls trilateral talks
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* Netflix falls on slowing subscriber growth
* Snap Inc surges on jump in user growth
* Abbott rises after profit forecast bump
* Futures up: Dow 0.01%, S&P 0.08%, Nasdaq 0.01%
(Adds comment, details; Updates prices)
By Medha Singh
Oct 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged higher on
Wednesday on signs that Washington could be close to agreeing on
the next coronavirus aid package to support a fragile economic
recovery.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said the Trump
administration and House Democrats shared a goal of reaching an
agreement in the next 48 hours. The biggest sticking point
remained funding for state and local governments, he said,
adding that progress has been made toward a deal. Talks between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will continue on
Wednesday. The Trump administration has proposed $1.8 trillion
in aid, while Democrats are pushing for $2.2
trillion. "We could expect talks to go on right until the election on
Nov. 3, but it is likely (a deal) will be reached which could
send markets on an upward trajectory." said Mihir Kapadia, chief
executive officer of Sun Global Investments.
The major U.S. stock indexes have traded in a tight range
over the past week as investors track progress over stimulus
talks.
Wall Street's fear gauge .VIX pushed past 30 points to hit
a one-month high as the U.S. election campaign entered its final
stretch. Democratic challenger Joe Biden and President Donald
Trump will face off in their second and final debate on Thursday
night. The race is closer in the battleground states that are
likely to decide the winner of the Nov. 3 election,
Reuters/Ipsos polling showed, while national polls put Biden
well ahead of Trump.
At 8:32 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 3 points, or
0.01%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 2.75 points, or 0.08%,
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 1.25 points, or 0.01%.
Netflix Inc NFLX.O kicked off earnings from the Big Tech
club, and was down 5.4% premarket after it missed expectations
for subscriber growth as streaming competition increased and
live sports returned to television. On the other hand, Snap Inc SNAP.N surged 21.3% after the
Snapchat messaging app owner beat user growth and revenue
forecasts, as more people signed up to chat with friends and
family during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shares of other social media companies Facebook Inc FB.O
and Twitter Inc TWTR.N rose 2.7% and 5.0%, while image sharing
company Pinterest Inc PINS.N gained 7.8%.
Of the 66 S&P 500 firms that have reported third-quarter
results, 86.4% have topped expectations for earnings, according
to IBES Refinitiv data.
Abbott Laboratories ABT.N rose 0.8% after it raised its
annual profit forecast. Electric-car maker Tesla Inc TSLA.O edged 0.4% lower as
investors geared up for its quarterly report after the closing
bell.