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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade as investors are awaiting earnings from 3M Co MMM, Merck & Co., Inc. MRK, Pfizer Inc. PFE and Microsoft Corporation MSFT. Wall Street closed sharply lower in the prior session following rise in Covid-19 cases and uncertainty over U.S. stimulus.

Data on durable goods orders for September will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index for August and the FHFA house price index for August will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for October and the Richmond Fed's manufacturing index for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 20 points to 27,601 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 4.50 points to 3,398.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 32 points to 11,524.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 8,704,520 with around 225,730 deaths. India reported a total of at least 7,946,420 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 5,409,850 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1% to trade at $41.20 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.9% to trade at $38.91 a barrel. The American Petroleum Institute’s report on crude supplies will be released later in the day.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today after recording sharp losses in the previous session. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index dropped 0.5%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.8%, while German DAX 30 declined 0.4% and London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2%. French producer prices rose 0.2% in September, while Spain's unemployment rate increased to 16.26% in the third quarter.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.04%, China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.10%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.53% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.8%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded lower by 1.7%. The industrial profit for China in September grew 10.1% year-over-year but is down 2.4% year-to-date.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Chardan Capital initiated coverage on Immunome, Inc. IMNM with a Buy rating and announced a price target of $18..

Immunome shares rose 3.9% to close at $12.20 on Monday.

Breaking News

• American International Group Inc AIG named Peter S. Zaffino as CEO, who currently serves as the president of the insurance giant and announced plans to spinoff its life and retirement business.
• HSBC Holdings Plc HSBC beat analyst estimates for the third-quarter earnings. Q3 revenue dropped to $11.9 billion marking an 11% decrease year-over-year..
• Twilio Inc TWLO reported upbeat results for its third quarter and issued strong sales forecast for the fourth quarter.
• Centene Corporation CNC reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter.