A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mixed Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mixed in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claim for the latest week and the Producer Price Index for March will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment for April and wholesale inventories for February will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak at 10:00 a.m. ET, while San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The U.S. is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic with the highest number of cases around the world. Total COVID-19 cases in the U.S. exceeded 432,400 with around 14,800 deaths. Spain confirmed a total of over 148,200 cases, while Italy reported a total of at least 139,400 confirmed cases and 17,600 deaths.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 41 points to 23,287 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 2.1 points to 2,737.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 9.25 points to 8,180.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 3.9% to trade at $ 34.11 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 5.7% to trade at $26.52 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.3%, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.5% and German DAX 30 index gaining 1%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.4%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.2%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.04%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.38%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.37% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 4.2%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded Kansas City Southern KSU from Neutral to Underweight.

Kansas City Southern shares rose 1.2% to close at $139.75 on Wednesday.

Breaking News

• Walt Disney Company DIS reported that its video-on-demand service Disney+ had crossed 50 million subscribers globally.
• Tesla Inc TSLA sold 10,160 vehicles in China for March, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
• Starbucks Corporation SBUX issued weak preliminary earnings forecast for the second quarter. Starbucks has withdrawn its outlook for FY 2020. The company had $2.5 billion of cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet at the end of the second-quarter.
• Nautilus, Inc. NLS issued strong sales forecast for the first quarter. The company reported it sees preliminary Q1 sales of $94 million.