U.S. stock futures edge higher as investors shake off Biden tax jitters

What are major benchmarks doing?

• Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average
  YM00,
  +0.05%
  rose 44 points, or 0.1%, to 33,753.
• S&P 500 futures
  ES00,
  +0.20%
  were up 9.30 points, or 0.2%, at 4,137.
• Nasdaq-100 futures
  NQ00,
  +0.19%
  rose 28.50 points, or 0.2%, to 13,778.75.

On Thursday, the Dow
DJIA,
-0.94%
tumbled 321.40 points, or 0.9%, for its biggest one-day fall since March 4, while the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.92%
and Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
-0.94%
also fell 0.9%.

What’s driving the market?

Stocks turned south in early afternoon trade Thursday after Bloomberg News and others reported that Biden would propose a hike in the capital-gains tax rate to 39.6% from 20% for individuals making more than $1 million a year. While the reports dented sentiment, analysts noted that the proposal was in line with Biden’s campaign promises and noted expectations a hike would be scaled back in congressional negotiations.

“The 39.6% figure is very much in line with the campaign pledge and shouldn’t shock, but the fact we’ve seen selling of risk suggests the market is far more sensitive to bad news, and this will happen when froth is prevalent,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, in a note.

“Consolidation seems to the order here in the short-term and it feels like we’re at the mercy of a period of choppy price action,” he said.

TaxWatch: Biden has pledged to tax the rich — but precisely how will he do that? Experts consider his options

Markit’s U.S. manufacturing and services purchasing managers index readings for April are due at 9:45 a.m. Eastern. Economists expect the manufacturing gauge to rise to 60.5 from 59.1, while the services index is expected to rise to 61.0 from 60.4. A reading of more than 50 indicates an expansion in activity.

March new-home sales figures are set for release at 10 a.m. Eastern and are expected to rise to an 888,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from 775,000 in February.

Which companies are in focus?

• Intel Corp.
  INTC,
  -1.77%
  shares were down 2.7% in premarket trade, despite a big earnings beat and raised annual guidance, as a large dip in data-center sales was offset by strength in sales of personal computers and a departing memory business.
• Shares of Snap Inc.
  SNAP,
  -2.14%
  rose 6% after the social-media company posted first-quarter results that surpassed analyst estimates.
• Mattel Inc.
  MAT,
  +0.14%
  shares were up 6% after the toy maker reported a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss and said its sales surged nearly 50%.
• Boston Beer Co.
  SAM,
  -0.73%,
  known for its Sam Adams-branded beers, reported earnings late Thursday that soared past analyst expectations, buoyed in part by sales of hard seltzers. Shares were up 6%.
• Shares of Dow component Honeywell International Inc.
  HON,
  -0.54%
  were off 0.6% after beating Wall Street estimates for earnings and revenues and revising its 2021 outlook.
• Schlumberger Ltd.
  SLB,
  -1.87%
  shares rose after the energy-services giant posted better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter.

What are other markets doing?

• The yield on the 10-year Treasury note
  BX:TMUBMUSD10Y
  fell 1.4 basis points to 1.547%. Yields and bond prices move in opposite directions.
• The ICE U.S. Dollar Index
  DXY,
  -0.36%,
  a measure of the currency against a basket of six major rivals, fell 0.3%.
• Bitcoin
  BTCUSD,
  -3.67%
  fell sharply in a move that some observers tied to tax jitters, with the digital asset falling below $50,000.
• Oil futures rose, with the U.S. benchmark
  CL00,
  +0.50%
  up 0.5% at $61.67 a barrel.
• Gold futures edged higher, with the June contract
  GCM21,
  +0.55%
  up 0.3% at $1,787.20 an ounce.
• In Europe, the Stoxx 600 index
  SXXP,
  -0.41%
  fell 0.4%, while London’s FTSE 100
  UKX,
  -0.56%
  was down 0.5%.
• In Asia, the Shanghai Composite
  SHCOMP,
  +0.26%
  rose 0.3%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index
  HSI,
  +1.12%
  jumped 1.1% and Japan’s Nikkei 225
  NIK,
  -0.57%
  fell 0.6%.