Figma Shares Indicated To Open $105/$110
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* Futures: Dow down 0.1%, S&P flat, Nasdaq up 0.2%
By Shriya Ramakrishnan
Dec 3 (Reuters) - Futures tied to the S&P 500 stalled near
all-time highs on Thursday ahead of weekly jobless claims data
and surveys on the services sector, which accounts for more than
two-thirds of the U.S. economy.
The labor market is slowly recovering but it has been
undermined by a surge in COVID-19 infections and fresh business
restrictions in the United States, which has boosted layoffs and
added pressure on policy makers for a fresh relief package.
The Labor Department's report, due at 8.30 a.m. ET (1330
GMT), is expected to show initial claims for jobless benefits
eased slightly to 775,000 in the week ended Nov. 28 from
778,000.
U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has expressed hope
that a fiscal stimulus deal could be reached "in the next few
days", and any legislation would likely need to be supplemented
with further aid next year. Republicans and Democrats also face a Dec. 11 deadline to
pass a $1.4 trillion budget or risk a shutdown of the
government.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases continued to rise. The mayor of
Los Angeles warned the city was nearing "a devastating tipping
point" and ordered residents to stay in their homes in new
lockdown measures. But progress in developing a working COVID-19 vaccine before
the end of the year has helped investors look past a surge in
COVID-19 infections, pushing the S&P 500 .SPX to a record
closing high on Wednesday.
At 06:19 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were down 30 points,
or 0.1% and S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were down 1.25 points, or
0.03%.
Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 19.5 points, or 0.16% as
heavyweight Tesla Inc TSLA.O rose about 3% premarket after
Goldman Sachs raised its rating to "buy" from "neutral" in the
run up to the electric-car maker's addition to the S&P 500.
Waddell & Reed Financial WDR.N jumped 46%, extending gains
from the previous session after Australia's Macquarie Group
MQG.AX announced a deal to buy the wealth manager for $1.7
billion.