A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up; Biden's Inauguration In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade as investors are awaiting President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration during the day. Morgan Stanley MS, UnitedHealth Group UNH and Procter & Gamble PG are all set to report their quarterly earnings today.

The NAHB housing market index for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The index is expected to remain unchanged at 86 in January from December.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 74 points to 30,902.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded gained 15.25 points to 3,805.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 109.25 points to 13,094.75.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 24,254,140 with around 401,760 deaths. India reported a total of at least 10,595,630 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 8,573,860 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.9% to trade at $56.40 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1% to trade at $53.50 a barrel. The API’s report on crude oil stocks will be released later during the day.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.4% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.8%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.7%, German DAX 30 gained 0.8% while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.4%. UK’s producer prices declined 0.4% year-over-year, while inflation rate increased to 0.6% in December. Germany's producer prices rose 0.2% year-over-year in December

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.38%, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.47%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.08% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.9%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4%. Foreign direct investment into China rose 6.2% year-on-year to CNY 999.98 billion in 2020, while People’s Bank of China kept the prime loan rate unchanged at 3.85%.

Broker Recommendation

Berenberg upgraded Boeing Co BA from Sell to Hold and raised the price target from $150 to $215.

Boeing shares rose 1% to $212.72 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Netflix Inc NFLX reported better-than-expected Q4 sales and issued strong guidance for the first quarter. Its global streaming paid memberships climbed 21.9% year-over-year to 203.66 million during the quarter. A report also mentioned the company is exploring potential buybacks to return cash to shareholders.
• Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s BABA founder Jack Ma made an online public appearance after months. Ma met 100 rural teachers through videoconferencing on Wednesday morning, Reuters reported. The entrepreneur had not been seen in public since Oct. 24 after he criticized China’s regulatory system at a summit in Shanghai.
• PACCAR Inc PCAR disclosed a strategic partnership with Aurora to develop autonomous trucks.
• Apple Inc.’s AAPL electric vehicles could be made by Kia Corp. at the latter’s manufacturing facility in the United States, according to a report from the Korean outlet eDaily.

Check out other breaking news here