A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Gain Following Tuesday's Rally

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, after posting a strong rise in the previous session. Data on housing starts and building permits for May will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to testify before the House Financial Services Committee at 12:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 12:00 p.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester will speak at 4:00 p.m. ET.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total cases in the country exceeding 2,137,730 with around 116,960 deaths. Russia reported a total of at least 552,540 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 923,180 cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 219 points to 26,412 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 23.05 points to 3,141.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 65.75 points to 10,027.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.6% to trade at $41.21 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.3% to trade at $38.49 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the US is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.4% and STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.6%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.8%, while French CAC 40 Index surged 0.8% and German DAX 30 climbed 0.7%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.56%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.56%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.14% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.2%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Needham initiated coverage on Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN with a Buy rating and a price target of $3,200.

Amazon shares rose 0.6% to $2,631.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Oracle Corporation ORCL reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed estimates.
• Norwegian Cruise Line Holding Ltd. NCLH announced plans to extend the suspension of its cruise voyages to October. The cruises were previously expected to be in the sea by August.
• Groupon Inc GRPN reported a wider loss for its first quarter. Groupon lost $7.53 per share in the quarter, versus a year-ago net loss of $1.49 per share. Excluding items, the company posted a loss of $1.63 per share. Its sales dropped 35% to $374.2 million.
• Tesla Inc. TSLA entered a three-year deal with Panasonic Corp. under which the Japanese battery maker will manufacture and supply lithium-ion battery cells at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada.