A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Earnings, Fed Decision

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade, after recording a rise in the earlier session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Boeing Co BA, General Motors Company GM, General Electric Company GE and Paypal Holdings Inc PYPL and QUALCOMM, Inc. QCOM. An advance report on U.S. international trade in goods and wholesale inventories for June will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The pending home sales index for June is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Federal Reserve is expected to announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, while the Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 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 4,352,080 with around 149,250 deaths. Brazil confirmed over 2,483,190 cases, while India reported a total of at least 1,531,660 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 13 points to 26,310 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 6 points to 3,219.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 43.5 points to 10,583.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.9% to trade at $44.00 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.8% to trade at $41.37 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is scheduled to release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.4% and STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.2%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.4%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.9% and German DAX 30 declined 0.1%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.15%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.45%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.06% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.9%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at KeyBanc upgraded Quest Diagnostics Inc DGX from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced a $144 price target.

Quest Diagnostics shares fell 0.5% to close at $123.46 on Tuesday.

Breaking News

• Starbucks Corporation SBUX reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter and raised its earnings guidance for FY20.
• Radware Ltd. RDWR reported upbeat results for its second quarter.
• Seagate Technology PLC STX reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Tuesday.
• Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD reported upbeat results for its second quarter and issued strong sales guidance for the third quarter.