A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Gain On Covid-19 Vaccine News

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade on positive vaccine news. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc REGN disclosed that its COVID-19 antibody cocktail received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Investors are awaiting earnings from Korn Ferry KFY, Agilent Technologies Inc A and Urban Outfitters, Inc. URBN.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for October is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m., while the flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index for November will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 222 points to 29,434.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 23.75 points to 3,578.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 50.75 points to 11,956.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 12,246,900 with around 256,780 deaths. India reported a total of at least 9,139,860 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 6,071,400 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.7% to trade at $45.70 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.5% to trade at $43.04 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs slipped by 5 to 231 rigs this week, Baker Hughes reported Friday.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.7% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.6%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.7%, while German DAX 30 gained 1% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4%. The Eurozone manufacturing PMI declined to 53.6 in November versus 54.8 in the earlier month, while services PMI tumbled to a six-month low of 41.3.

Asian markets traded higher today. China’s Shanghai Composite rose 1.09%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.13% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.5%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded higher by 0.3%. Australia’s manufacturing PMI improved significantly to 56.1 while the services PMI increased to 54.9.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Piper Sandler downgraded Foot Locker, Inc. FL from Neutral to Underweight and raised the price target from $25 to $29.

Foot Locker shares fell 2% to $38.50 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• AstraZeneca Plc AZN and Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine prevented 70% of the inoculated trial participants from developing COVID-19, early analysis of trial data indicates, Bloomberg reported Monday.
• The Western Union Company WU agreed to acquire a 15% stake in a Saudi Arabian digital payment business for up to $200 million.
• Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA CEO Daniel Zhang said that Beijing’s draft rules to prevent monopolistic behavior by China’s internet platforms are “timely and necessary,” Reuters reported Monday.
• CoStar Group Inc CSGP announced plans to acquire Homesnap, Inc. for $250 million in cash.