A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Georgia Senate Runoff

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade ahead of the Senate runoff elections in Georgia. The Dow Jones tumbled more than 300 points on the first trading day of 2021. The NYSE reversed its previous decision to delist three major Chinese telecom operators, which is expected to ease rising tensions between the U.S. and China.

The ISM manufacturing composite index for December will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The index is expected to drop to 56.5 in December versus prior month’s reading of 57.5. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams will speak at 3:45 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 41 points to 30,145 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 5.25 points to 3,697.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 15.75 points to 12,701.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 20,823,340 with around 353,620 deaths. India reported a total of at least 10,356,840 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 7,753,750 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.2% to trade at $51.17 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.2% to trade at $47.73 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.2% and STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.2%, German DAX 30 dropped 0.1% while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.3%. Eurozone manufacturing PMI declined to 55.2 in December, while loans to households increased 3.1% year-over-year. German unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.1% in December, while unemployment dropped by 37,000 month-over-month. The country’s retail sales rose 1.9% in November. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Monday that England will enter another national lockdown that will help contain the spread of a new COVID-19 variant.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.37%, China’s Shanghai Composite surged 0.73%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.64% and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.4%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1%. The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group’s job advertisements rose 9.2% month-over-month in December.

Broker Recommendation

KeyBanc upgraded Cadence Design Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CDNS) from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced a $155 price target.

Cadence Design shares rose 1.7% to $138.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SIVB) announced plans to acquire Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:BPFH) for a total of around $900 million.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) is in plans to set up another wealth management joint venture in China, Bloomberg reported.
• Jefferies Financial Group Inc (NYSE:JEF) reported strong earnings results for its fourth quarter on Monday.
• Nintendo Co Ltd (OTC:NTDOY) said Tuesday it had reached an agreement to acquire Vancouver-based Next Level Games.