A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Climb Ahead Of Earnings, Fed Minutes

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, following a decline in the stock markets on Tuesday. Investors are awaiting earnings results from McKesson Corporation MCK and Expedia Group, Inc. EXPE. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 10:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard will speak at 12:00 p.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting 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 1,528,660 with around 91,930 deaths. Russia reported a total of at least 308,700 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 271,880 cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 214 points to 24,372 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 23.95 points to 2,942.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 78.50 points to 9,379.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.9% to trade at $34.95 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.4% to trade at $32.08 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 mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.2%, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.1% and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.1%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.1%, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.6%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.79%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.05%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.51% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 2.1%.


Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded Cree, Inc. CREE from Underweight to Neutral and raised the price target from $40 to $60.

Cree shares rose 0.5% to close at $49.65 on Tuesday.


Breaking News

  • Urban Outfitters, Inc. URBN reported weaker-than-expected results for its first quarter on Tuesday. Its comparable retail segment sales plunged 28% during the quarter.
  • Apple Inc. AAPL is looking to shift the manufacturing of its over-ear AirPods Studio headphones away from China. The company will now make its new Studio range of headphones in Vietnam. This is the first time ever that the Cupertino-based tech giant has produced an entirely new product in Vietnam, according to 9to5Mac, an Apple news website.
  • Lowe's Companies, Inc. LOW reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter.
  • Target Corporation TGT reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, while sales exceeded views.
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Posted In: EarningsNewsPenny StocksPre-Market OutlookMarketsA Peek Into The Markets
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