A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up; All Eyes On Fed Decision

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of the Federal Reserve’s announcement of policy decision. However, no change in interest rate is expected at the meeting. The Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET. Investors are awaiting earnings from Brady Corp BRC and Herman Miller, Inc. MLHR. Data on retail sales for August will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on business inventories for July and the NAHB housing market index for September will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 126 points to 28,153 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 16.50 points to 3,421.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 50.75 points to 11,515.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 6,606,560 with around 195,940 deaths. India reported a total of at least 5,020,350 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 4,382,260 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.9% to trade at $41.29 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 2.1% to trade at $39.10 a barrel. The American Petroleum Institute reported that U.S. crude supplies declined 9.5 million barrels during the week ended September 11. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.4% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.3%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.2%, while German DAX 30 rose 0.2% and London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2%. The UK’s annual inflation slowed in August, with consumer prices increasing just 0.2% on the year, versus a 1% rise in July.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.09%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.04% China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.36% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.5%. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe officially announced his resignation, clearing the way for Yoshihide Suga. Japan's exports dropped at a slower pace, declining 14.8% year-over-year in August, versus a 19.2% fall in July.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded Veeco Instruments Inc. VECO from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $13.5 to $16.

Veeco Instruments shares fell 0.3% to close at $11.00 on Tuesday.

Breaking News

• FedEx Corporation FDX reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter on Tuesday.
• The Federal Trade Commission is expected to file an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook Inc FB by the end of the year, The Wall Street Journal reported.
• Adobe Inc ADBE reported upbeat results for its third quarter on Tuesday.
• ByteDance-owned short-form video app TikTok will operate as a standalone company based in the US encompassing its entire global operations, where Oracle Corporation ORCL would hold a minority stake, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.