Stock market news live: Stock futures rise, following global equities higher - Yahoo Finance

U.S. stocks advanced Wednesday morning after a mixed session a day prior. The number of cases and death toll from the coronavirus continued to rise, albeit at an apparently decelerating pace. Later in the session, the Federal Reserve will release minutes from its January meeting.

9:30 a.m. ET: Wall Street pops at the open

Blue chip and technology stocks rose for the first day in nearly a week, as investors looked to recoup losses stemming from China’s ongoing coronavirus crisis. Markets were roiled by Apple’s announcement that quarterly earnings would suffer in the wake of the outbreak, which some fear could undermine growth as the world’s second-largest economy remains isolated.

Here’s where the major indices had settled as of 9:30 a.m. ET:

S&P 500 (^GSPC): +0.39% or 13.23 points
Dow (^DJI): +0.27% or 77.99 points
Nasdaq (^IXIC): +0.70% or 68.35 points
Crude oil (CL=F): +1.50% or 0.78
Gold (GC=F): 0.22% or $3.50

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8:30 a.m. ET: Building permits rise to highest level since 2007 in January

Housing starts pulled back less than anticipated from December’s 13-year high in January and building permits jumped to the highest level in more than a decade, in the latest affirmation of a firming U.S. housing market.

Housing starts fell 3.6% to a seasonally adjusted 1.567 million in January, the Census Bureau said Wednesday. That was better than the decline of 11.2% to 1.428 million expected, according to Bloomberg consensus data. In December, housing starts had surged 17.7% to 1.626 million, marking a 13-year high.

Building permits, which serve as a gauge of future home-building, jumped far more than expected in January. Building permits rose 9.2% to 1.551 million in January, the highest level since March 2007. This more than reversed December’s 3.7% decline to 1.42 million.

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7:37 a.m. ET: Stock futures drift higher in early trading

U.S. stock futures were higher Wednesday morning. The S&P 500 and Dow looked to recover some of Tuesday’s losses spurred after Apple abandoned its March quarter sales guidance due to supply chain and demand impacts due to the coronavirus.

As of Wednesday, the death toll from the coronavirus exceeded 2,000, and the number of reported cases was more than 75,000 globally, according to data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

Companies including athletic-wear makers Adidas and Puma were some of the latest corporations to call out the impact of the coronavirus to their businesses.

Amid the disruptions, China has been using stimulus measures to help soften the blow of the coronavirus on its domestic industries. Based on a Bloomberg report, the country is considering tactics including direct cash infusions and mergers to help boost its domestic airline industry, as flight cancellations and reduced travel roil the industry. Such a move would add to stimulus China’s central bank unleashed on Monday, with the People’s Bank of China having cut its medium-term lending facility to boost borrowing and lending in the outbreak-stricken economy.

Here were the main moves during the pre-market session, as of 7:37 a.m. ET: