A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up; Dow Futures Surge Over 500 Points

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, after a three-day holiday weekend. Investors are awaiting earnings results from AutoZone, Inc. AZO, Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation BAH and Heico Corp HEI. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for April is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index for March and the FHFA house price index for March will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET. The Conference Board consumer confidence index for May and new home sales report for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Dallas Fed manufacturing index for May will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari is set to speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world. Total coronavirus cases in the U.S. exceeded 1,662,760 with around 98,220 deaths. Russia reported a total of at least 353,420 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 374,890 cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 554 points to 24,978 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 60.85 points to 3,013.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 190.5 points to 9,596.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.5% to trade at $36.66 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 3% to trade at $34.24 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.4%, STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.9% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.7%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 2%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 1.2%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei rose 2.55%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.96%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.01% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.1%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co HPE from Underweight to Neutral and announced $11 price target.

Hewlett Packard shares rose 3.6% to $9.50 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Evofem Biosciences Inc EVFM disclosed that the FDA has approved the company’s birth control gel, Phexxi.
• Novavax Inc. NVAX announced on Monday it had started the first phase of its novel coronavirus vaccine trials.
• Zealand Pharma A/S ZEAL reported the FDA acceptance of its New Drug Application for the dasiglucagon HypoPal Rescue Pen.
• Hertz Global Holdings Inc HTZ disclosed that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.