A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Gain; Presidential Election In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade following a sharp decline in the previous week due to resurgence of Covid-19 pandemic and the uncertainties around the presidential election. Investors are awaiting earnings from Estee Lauder Companies Inc EL, Charter Communications Inc CHTR, Paypal Holdings Inc PYPL, Clorox Co CLX and US Foods Holding Corp USFD.

The manufacturing PMI for October is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET, while yhe ISM manufacturing composite index for October is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. Data on construction spending for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 364 points to 26,758 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 40.30 points to 3,305. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 123.75 points to 11,170.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 9,208,870 with around 231,000 deaths. India reported a total of at least 8,229,310 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 5,545,700 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 2.2% to trade at $37.09 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 2.7% to trade at $34.81 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs gained by 10 to 221 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported Friday.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.8% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 1%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.3%, while German DAX 30 gained 1.6% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.4%. Germany's manufacturing activity improved marginally to 58.2 in October. UK’s Prime Minister Johnson announced a 1-month lockdown from November 5 as the country’s Covid-19 cases exceeded the 1-million mark.

Asian markets traded higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.39%, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.02%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.46% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.4%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded higher by 0.4%. Japan’s manufacturing PMI improved to 48.7 in October, beating the consensus of 48. China’s manufacturing activity accelerated at the fastest pace in nearly a decade, improving to 53.6 in October.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Piper Sandler downgraded Aon Plc AON from Overweight to Neutral and lowered the price target from $228 to $187.

Aon shares fell 1.3% to close at $184.01 on Friday.

Breaking News

• Nielsen Holdings PLC NLSN announced plans to sell its consumer goods data unit for $2.7 billion to Advent International.
• Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, a private equity firm with a portfolio of infrastructure investments, on Sunday announced it is acquiring cable-TV company Astound Broadband in an $8.1 billion that includes the latter's debt.
• Nidec Corporation will build a $1.9 billion plant in Siberia to manufacture motors for electric vehicles in a bid to consolidate its presence in the European markets, Nikkei Asia reported Monday.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM now controls 71% of its Chinese securities joint venture after it bought a 20% stake from a local partner, Reuters reported.