A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Rise; JPMorgan, Wells Fargo Earnings In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM and Wells Fargo & Company WFC. Data on import and export prices for March will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard is set to speak at 11:05 a.m. ET, while Chicago Federal Reserve chief Charles Evans will speak at 12:30 p.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 582,500 with around 23,640 deaths. Spain confirmed a total of over 170,000 cases, while Italy reported a total of at least 159,500 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 279 points to 23,588 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 29.1 points to 2,788.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 109 points to 8,436.25.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.6% to trade at $31.24 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 2.3% to trade at $21.90 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1%, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.6% and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.1%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.5%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei rose 3.13%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.56% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.59%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded Genpact Limited G from Neutral to Overweight.

Genpact shares fell 2.2% to close at $29.55 on Monday.

Breaking News

• Amazon.com Inc. AMZN is looking to hire another 75,000 workers across delivery and warehouses as it seeks to meet the increased demand for e-commerce during the coronavirus pandemic.
• Roku Inc. ROKU disclosed that it added around 3 million new users in the first quarter and issued strong sales forecast for the first quarter.
• SoftBank Group Corp. SFTBY is forecasting record losses for the financial year that ended March 2020, as its Vision Fund and other investments flounder.
• Inspire Medical Systems Inc INSP reported commencement of $75 million common stock offering. The company withdrew its FY20 guidance and said it expects Q1 sales of $21.3 million.