A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Gain Ahead Of Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from AT&T Inc. T, Kimberly-Clark Corporation KMB and Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL. The FHFA house price index for February will be released at 9:00 a.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 825,300 with around 45,070 deaths. Spain confirmed a total of over 204,170 cases, while Italy reported a total of at least 183,950 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 284 points to 23,213 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 36.15 points to 2,768.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 107.5 points to 8,539.25.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 9.5% to trade at $ 17.50 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.7% to trade at $11.37 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.9%, STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 1.1% and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.2%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 1.4%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.6%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.74%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.42%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.60% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 2.2%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at RBC Capital downgraded Noble Corporation PLC NE from Sector Perform to Underperform.

Noble shares rose 5.2% to $0.20 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Netflix Inc NFLX reported downbeat earnings for its first quarter, while sales exceeded views. The company added 15.77 million subscribers during the quarter and issued strong earnings forecast for the second quarter.
• Alphabet Inc. GOOGL subsidiary YouTube has been sued by a blockchain-based payment network company for its alleged inaction against cryptocurrency giveaway scams on its platform.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter. However, the company withdrew its FY20 guidance.
• Snap Inc SNAP reported downbeat earnings for its first quarter, but sales surpassed estimates. The company also reported daily active users were up 20% year-over-year to 228 million.