A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up; All Eyes On Fed Decision

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings reports from several companies. The ADP national employment report for July will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET, while the employment cost index for the second quarter is schedule for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Chicago PMI for July is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, while the Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 60 points to 27,224 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 4.45 points to 3,016.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 24.25 points to 7,987.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.6% to trade at $65.01 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.6% to trade at $58.37 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.2%, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.1% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.3%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.7%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.86%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.31%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.67% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.22%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Cowen & Co. upgraded Electronic Arts Inc. EA from Market Perform to Outperform.

Electronic Arts shares rose 5.8 percent to $93.71 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Apple Inc. AAPL reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter and issued strong fourth-quarter sales guidance.
• Johnson Controls International PLC JCI reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter.
• Molson Coors Brewing Co TAP reported downbeat earnings for its second quarter.
• General Electric Company GE announced upbeat results for its second quarter and raised FY19 EPS guidance.