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Wall Street points to higher open; Valeant shares plunge 10%

Published 06/07/2016, 06:56 AM
© Reuters.  Wall Street points to higher open
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Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Tuesday, tracking strong gains in European and Asian equities, after dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen cooled near-term U.S. rate hike bets and as oil prices firmed above the $50-level.

The blue-chip Dow futures rose 55 points, or 0.31%, by 10:55GMT, or 6:55AM ET, the S&P 500 futures tacked on 6 points, or 0.27%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 17 points, or 0.37%.

Wall Street ended higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 rising to a seven-month peak, after Fed Chair Yellen gave a largely upbeat assessment of the U.S. economic outlook, but declined to set a specific timetable for the U.S. central bank's next interest rate hike.

Yellen’s comments all but ruled out a chance for a June rate hike, with traders pricing in just a 4% probability based on Fed funds futures. Odds for a July rate hike dropped to 27% from 33% before Yellen spoke. Those odds were at nearly 60% before the disappointing May jobs report late last week.

Meanwhile, oil prices firmed above the $50-level as investors continued to weigh supply disruptions in Nigeria and amid expectations for a decline in U.S. crude inventories.

The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles fell by 3.5 million barrels in the week ended June 3.

In a light day for U.S. economic data, productivity and unit labor costs for the first quarter are due at 12:30GMT, or 8:30AM ET. A reading on consumer credit for April is expected at 19:00GMT, or 3:00PM ET.

Among active pre-market movers, Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:VRX) shares plunged 11% ahead of the opening bell after the troubled pharmaceutical group announced disappointing first quarter profit and revenue, prompting it to slash its guidance for the year.

Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) shares inched up amid reports that Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) plans to submit a second-round bid of around $3 billion for the tech firm’s core internet business.

Elsewhere, European and Asian stock markets posted sharp gains Tuesday, as investors digested the latest comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.2% at 93.84, close to the previous session’s three-week lows of 93.74

The dollar slumped more than 1% against the pound as two new polls on the June 23 referendum on the U.K.’s membership in the European Union showed the “remain” camp with a slight lead, reducing jitters that the vote could lead to a Brexit.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar jumped 1% against its U.S. counterpart after the country’s central bank left rates on hold on Tuesday and held off from indicating that more monetary easing is on the cards.

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