A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Rebound; Dow Futures Up Over 700 Points

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on import and export prices for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for March is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.

South Korea confirmed a total of over 7,900 coronavirus cases, while Italy reported a total of at least 15,000 confirmed cases and 1,000 deaths. Mainland China reported 8 additional confirmed cases with 7 new deaths.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 712 points to 21,656 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 84 points to 2,540. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 271.5 points to 7,473.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 4.5% to trade at $ 34.72 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 4.5% to trade at $32.93 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 3.7%, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 1.4% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.8%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 3.1%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 1.5%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 6.08%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 1.14%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.23% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 3.3%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded Morgan Stanley MS from Neutral to Buy and lowered the price target from $52 to $43.

Morgan Stanley shares rose 3.8% to $32.50 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Oracle Corporation ORCL reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter on Thursday.
• World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. WWE disclosed that it is withdrawing earlier issued guidance for Q1 and FY 2020 due to increased uncertainty of financial impact of coronavirus.
• Gap Inc GPS reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter.
• Broadcom Inc AVGO reported weaker-than-expected results for its first quarter on Thursday.