Business Insider columnist Adam Lashinsky discusses the future of Big Tech in the markets.<\/p>\n
U.S. stock futures had the major averages on track to contend with record highs at the opening bell as a flood of corporate earnings washed across Wall Street.<\/p>\n
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Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were trading higher by 58 points, or 0.19%, while S&P 500 futures were up 0.09% and Nasdaq futures were unchanged. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite finished in record territory on Monday while the Dow ended 0.7% below its own all-time peak.<\/p>\n
Looking at stocks, Dow component Johnson & Johnson forecast 2021 profit ahead of Wall Street estimates and said it expects the results from its COVID-19 vaccine trial soon. The company’s experimental vaccine differs from the ones delivered by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Inc. in that it is a single shot instead of requiring two injections.<\/p>\n
Fellow Dow component 3M Co. said its quarterly profit rose 43% year over year, boosted by the performance of its health care unit. However, the company’s full-year profit forecast fell short of Wall Street estimates. <\/p>\n
Elsewhere, former Dow member General Electric Co. reported cash flow from industrial operations rose 4.8% from a year ago to $4.37 billion, outpacing its $2.5 billion forecast. The conglomerate said its industrial business will grow in the low-single digits in the current year.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, GameStop Corp. shares remain in focus after having soared 78% over the previous two sessions as short-sellers have been forced to cover their losing bets. The stock has climbed 285% since Jan. 12.<\/p>\n
Shares of BlackBerry Ltd. are also under close watch, having surged 142% since Jan. 13 amid their own short squeeze.<\/p>\n
Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Starbucks Corp. are among the companies set to report their quarterly results following the closing bell.<\/p>\n
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil up 20 cents at $52.97 per barrel and gold down $2.50 at $1,852.70 per ounce.<\/p>\n
In Europe, Germany’s DAX 30 paced the advance, trading up 1.95%, while France’s CAC 30 and Britain’s FTSE 100 were gained 1.36% and 0.85%, respectively.<\/p>\n
Asian markets ended sharply lower across the board with Japan’s Nikkei 225 losing 0.96%, China’s Shanghai Composite index declining 1.51% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index sliding 2.55%.<\/p>\n