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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, after closing mixed in the previous session. The current account report for the first quarter is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Eric Rosengren is set to speak at 10:15 a.m. ET., while Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles will speak at 12:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak at 1:00 p.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 2,191,200 with around 118,430 deaths. Russia reported a total of at least 568,290 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 978,140 cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 266 points to 26,290 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 27 points to 3,136. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 80 points to 10,075.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 3.1% to trade at $42.80 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 3.4% to trade at $40.17 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.7% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.6%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.8%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.8% and German DAX 30 climbed 0.7%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.55%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.73%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.96% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.5%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Barclays upgraded Ulta Beauty Inc ULTA from Equal-Weight to Overweight and announced a $276 price target.

Ulta Beauty shares rose 0.2% to $219.40 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• At Home Group Inc HOME reported downbeat results for its first quarter on Thursday.
• Hertz Global Holdings Inc. HTZ on Thursday in a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission said it has abandoned a plan to raise $500 million in stock offering.
• American Software, Inc. AMSWA reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales surpassed views.
• Yatra Online Inc YTRA reported a proposed public offering of ordinary shares. However, no terms of the offering were disclosed.