A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up; Crude Oil Rises 1%

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly higher in early pre-market trade after the S&P 500 index closed above 3,700 for the first time in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings from Campbell Soup Company CPB and United Natural Foods Inc UNFI.

The Labor Department's JOLTS report for October and data on wholesale inventories for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 97 points to 30,267.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 9.75 points to 3,711.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 0.25 points to 12,637.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 15,171,930 with around 286,310 deaths. India reported a total of at least 9,735,850 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 6,674,990 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.1% to trade at $49.38 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.1% to trade at $46.09 a barrel. The American Petroleum Institute, late Tuesday, disclosed an unexpected increase of 1.4 million barrels in US crude oil inventories. 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 higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.4% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.5%. The French CAC 40 Index gained 0.3%, while German DAX 30 gained 0.8% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5%. The eurozone GDP rose 12.5% quarter-over-quarter during the third quarter, but declined 4.3% year-over-year. Spain's industrial production declined 1.6% year-over-year in October. German trade balance surplus increased to €18.2 billion in October.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.33%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 1.12%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.75% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded higher by 0.6%. Japan's machinery orders rose 17.1% month-over-month in October. China’s consumer price index declined 0.5% year-over-year for November, while the producer price index dropped 1.5% year-over-year.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at DZ Bank downgraded American Express Company AXP from Buy to Hold and announced a $128 price target

American Express shares fell 0.3% to close at $123.52 on Tuesday.

Breaking News

• Uber Technologies Inc UBER announced plans to sell its air taxi unit Uber Elevate to Joby Aviation. Earlier this week, the ride-sharing company announced a sale of its self-driving business to Aurora Innovation.
• DoorDash Inc on Tuesday priced its initial public offering at $102 per share.
• FireEye FEYE said it was hacked and internal tools were accessed. It is working with the FBI and Microsoft in the investigation..
• GameStop Corp. GME reported a narrower-than-expected loss for its third quarter, while sales missed estimates. The company also filed for an offering of up to $100 million of its common stock..