A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up; OPEC+ Agrees To Extend Output Cuts

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, after posting strong gains in the prior session. Investors are awaiting earnings reports from Thor Industries Inc. THO, REV Group Inc. REVG and Calavo Growers Inc. CVGW.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world. Total coronavirus cases in the U.S. exceeded 1,942,360 with around 110,510 deaths. Russia reported a total of at least 467,070 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 691,750 cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 165 points to 27,237 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 15.45 points to 3,202.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 19 points to 9,827.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.2% to trade at $42.79 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.9% to trade at $39.89 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.4% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 1.5%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.2%, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.5% and German DAX 30 dropped 0.6%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.37%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.02%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.24% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.5%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded The Michaels Companies, Inc. MIK from Neutral to Overweight and announced a $13 price target.

Michaels shares rose 12.3% to $6.19 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies agreed to extend the existing production cuts of 9.7 million barrels per day through July.
• Indian company Yatra Online Inc YTRA disclosed that it has terminated its merger agreement with Ebix and also filed a litigation over Ebix's alleged breach of terms of agreement.
• AstraZeneca Plc AZN reached out to Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD regarding a potential merger last month, which could be the largest pharmaceutical industry deal on record.
• Piedmont Lithium Limited PLL reported a proposed US public offering of American Depositary Shares.