A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Rise Ahead Of Earnings, Economic Reports

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Sysco Corporation SYY, US Foods Holding Corp. USFD, The Walt Disney Company DIS and Electronic Arts Inc. EA. International trade report for March is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, while US Services Purchasing Managers' Index for April is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. The ISM's non-manufacturing index for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Chicago Federal Reserve chief Charles Evans is set to speak at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard and Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic will speak at 2:00 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 1,180,630 with around 68,930 deaths. Spain confirmed a total of over 218,010 cases, while Italy reported a total of at least 211,930 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 150 points to 23,721 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 15.7 points to 2,841. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 55.5 points to 8,851.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 7% to trade at $29.09 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 9.2% to trade at $22.26 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.4%, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 1.6% and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.8%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 1.6%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 2%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei fell 2.84%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.08%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.33% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.5%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Stifel upgraded Cutera, Inc. CUTR from Hold to Buy and lowered the price target from $32 to $26.

Cutera shares fell 1.5% to close at $12.90 on Monday.

Breaking News

• Cirrus Logic, Inc. CRUS reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Monday.
• Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. BIO disclosed that it has received FDA Emergency Use Authorization for droplet digital PCR SARS-CoV-2 test kit.
• Hertz Global Holdings Inc. HTZ dropped over 20% in pre-market trading as multiple reports suggested the company is nearing a bankruptcy filing. The car rental company has hired an additional advisor to help prepare for a planned bankruptcy filing, according to The Wall Street Journal.
• Trex Company Inc TREX reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter.