A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Climb Ahead Of Earnings, Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, after recording gains in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from CVS Health Corp CVS, Western Digital Corp WDC, AmerisourceBergen Corp. ABC, Humana Inc HUM and Zynga Inc ZNGA. The national employment report from Automated Data Processing for July is scheduled for release at 8:15 a.m. ET, while international trade report for June will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. US Services Purchasing Managers' Index for July is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the ISM's non-manufacturing index for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester is set to speak at 5:00 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 4,771,510 with around 156,830 deaths. Brazil confirmed over 2,801,920 cases, while India reported a total of at least 1,908,250 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 175 points to 26,892 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 17.10 points to 3,317.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 40.5 points to 11,126.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.3% to trade at $45.02 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.4% to trade at $42.28 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.8% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.7%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.9%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.8% and German DAX 30 gained 0.9%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.26%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.62% China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.17% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.1%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at BTIG upgraded Palo Alto Networks, Inc. PANW from Neutral to Buy and announced a $313 price target.

Palo Alto shares rose 0.2% to close at $254.91 on Tuesday.

Breaking News

• Walt Disney Co DIS reported better-than-expected earnings for its latest quarter, while revenue missed views. The company reported 57.5 million Disney+ paid subscribers as of June 27. The company also announced plans to make “Mulan” available on its streaming video-on-demand service Disney+ on September 4 at a price of$29.99.
• Activision Blizzard, Inc. ATVI reported upbeat results for its second quarter and raised its revenue forecast for the year.
• Square Inc SQ reported upbeat earnings for its second quarter.
• Monster Beverage Corp MNST reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter on Tuesday.