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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Labor Department's JOLTS report for February is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET, while data on consumer credit for February will be released at 3:00 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 368,400 with around 10,900 deaths. Spain confirmed a total of over 136,600 cases, while Italy reported a total of at least 132,500 confirmed cases and 16,500 deaths.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 690 points to 23,178 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 72.2 points to 2,716.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index jumped 195 points to 8,224.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 2.6% to trade at $33.91 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 3.8% to trade at $27.06 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 2.8%, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 2.3% and German DAX 30 index gaining 3.4%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 2.2%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 3%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei rose 2.01%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 2.12%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.05% and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 8.7%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at UBS upgraded Constellation Brands, Inc. STZ from Neutral to Buy and lowered the price target from $211 to $180.

Constellation shares rose 2.6% to $146.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc INO disclosed that the United States FDA accepted the New Drug Application for INO-4800, a vaccine that is designed to prevent COVID-19, clearing the way for Phase 1 clinical testing in healthy volunteers.
• The Indian government partially lifted restrictions on the export of antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine, according to Asian News International.
• Luminex Corporation LMNX disclosed that it received FDA emergency use authorization for ARIES SARS-CoV-2 assay to detect virus responsible for COVID-19 disease. The company issued strong Q1 sales forecast.
• President Donald Trump's administration and 3M Co. MMM reported a deal to increase mask supply in the US. As part of the agreement, 3M will import 166.5 million masks from its China manufacturing facilities by June.