A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Rise After Hitting Record Highs In Previous Session

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after Wall Street stocks climbed to record highs in the previous session on news of President Donald Trump signing the $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill. The House, on Monday, also passed a bill to raise the direct payments from $600 to $2,000.

The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index for October will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET. Case-Shiller's adjusted index is projected to increase a monthly 0.7% in October following a 1.3% rise in the prior month.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 156 points to 30,461.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 17.25 points to 3,744.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 61.75 points to 12,894.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 19,308,460 with around 334,960 deaths. India reported a total of at least 10,224,300 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 7,504,830 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.7% to trade at $51.26 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.7% to trade at $47.93 a barrel. The API’s data on crude stocks in the US will be released later today.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today on continued optimism over Britain and the European Union signing the Brexit trade deal. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.5% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.9%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.5%, while German DAX 30 gained 0.7% and London's FTSE 100 gained 1.9%. Jobseekers total in France increased marginally to 3.59 million.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.66%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.54%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.96% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.5%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5%.

Broker Recommendation

KeyBanc upgraded Continental Resources, Inc. CLR from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced a $20 price target.

Continental Resources shares fell 2.7% to close at $16.26 on Monday.

Breaking News

• Pfizer Inc. PFE reported that the FDA has accepted Priority Review for the supplemental New Drug Application for LORBRENA in previously untreated ALK-positive lung cancer.
• Amazon.com, Inc AMZN is on course for $100 billion in quarterly revenue as the pandemic has led to an online shopping surge, the Financial Times reported.
• TAL Education Group TAL reported a $3.3 billion private placement with Silver Lake and other investors.
• Amphastar Pharmaceuticals AMPH reported that the FDA has granted approval to first generic of drug used to treat severe hypoglycemia for injection.