A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Signal Higher Start On Wall Street

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. LECO, PPG Industries, Inc. PPG and Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. KDP. The Dallas Fed manufacturing index for April is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The U.S. is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic with the highest number of cases and deaths around the world. Total COVID-19 cases in the U.S. exceeded 965,930 with around 54,870 deaths. Spain confirmed a total of over 226,620 cases, while Italy reported a total of at least 197,670 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 259 points to 23,917 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 29.50 points to 2,859.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 116.5 points to 8,885.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 3.8% to trade at $ 23.86 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 15.6% to trade at $14.29 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 1.7%, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 1.7% and German DAX 30 index gaining 2.4%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 1.6%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 1.9%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei rose 2.71%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.88%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.25% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.33%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Mizuho upgraded Twitter, Inc. TWTR from Underperform to Neutral and announced a $28 price target.

Twitter shares rose 2.1% to $29.34 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Amedisys, Inc. AMED agreed to acquire AseraCare Hospice.
• Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AMPH disclosed that it received FDA approval for Epinephrine injection, USP 30mg/30mL (1mg/mL) Multiple Dose Vial.
• Axsome Therapeutics AXSM reported that AXS-05 achieved primary endpoint in the ADVANCE-1 pivotal Phase 2/3 trial in Alzheimer's disease agitation.
• NVIDIA Corporation NVDA reported that it has completed its acquisition of Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. MLNX.