Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade on hopes of another fiscal stimulus before the Presidential election. Investors are awaiting earnings from Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL), Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII), and IBM (NYSE:IBM). Wall Street closed mostly higher in the prior session despite stalled stimulus talks.

The NAHB housing market index for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Analysts expect the housing market index coming in unchanged from the previous month at 83 in October. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak at 8:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida will speak at 11:45 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 226 points to 28,634 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 29.80 points to 3,492.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 122.75 points to 11,920.75.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 8,154,930 with around 219,670 deaths. India reported a total of at least 7,550,270 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 5,224,360 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $42.99 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.2% to trade at $40.96 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs rose by 12 to 205 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported Friday.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today after recording gains in the previous session. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.7% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.7%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.9%, while German DAX 30 gained 0.7% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4%. Eurozone construction output declined the least in six months, falling just 0.9% year-over-year in August.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.11%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.71%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.7% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.9%. Japan’s trade surplus widened to 675 billion Yen from 248.6 billion Yen in August. China's third-quarter GDP surged 4.9% year-over-year missing the consensus of 5.2% growth, while the country’s industrial production in September grew 6.9% year-over-year.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Wedbush maintained Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) with a Neutral rating and raised the price target from $475 to $500.

Tesla shares rose 1.7% to $447.10 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Canadian firm Cogeco Communications’s owners rejected an enhanced hostile takeover bid by Altice USA Inc (NYSE:ATUS).
• American Equity Investment Life Holding Company (NYSE:AEL), has agreed to a strategic partnership with Brookfield Asset Management Inc (NYSE:BAM), which will reinsure up to $10 billion of American Equity's fixed index annuity products, and acquire a 19.9% stake in the company at $37 per share..
• CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS) announced plans to add 15,000 staffers on a priority basis, Bloomberg reported.
• Alibaba Group Holdings Limited (NYSE:BABA) disclosed an additional $3.6 billion investment in Chinese supermarket operator Sun Art Retail Group on Sunday.