A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher On Biden's Optimism

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade on prospects of additional stimulus following Joe Biden’s inauguration. Investors are awaiting earnings reports from Union Pacific Corporation UNP, IBM IBM and Intel Corporation INTC.

Data on housing starts and building permits for December, initial jobless claims for the latest week and the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 30 points to 31,126.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded gained 7.25 points to 3,852.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 57.25 points to 13,351.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 24,438,720 with around 406,140 deaths. India reported a total of at least 10,610,880 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 8,638,240 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.8% to trade at $55.65 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.6% to trade at $52.91 a barrel. US crude oil inventories increased 2.6 million barrels in the week to Jan. 15, the American Petroleum Institute reported. However, analysts were expecting for a decline of 1.2 million barrels.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.2% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.4%. The French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.1%, German DAX 30 gained 0.3% while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.1%. French industry climate indicator rose 4 points to a reading of 98.0 in January.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.82%, China’s Shanghai Composite climbed 1.07%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.12% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.2%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8%. Hong Kong’s consumer prices declined 0.7% year-over-year in December. The Bank of Japan left its key interest rate unchanged at -0.1%. Japanese imports dropped 11.6% year-on-year to JPY 5.96 trillion, while exports increased 2% to JPY 6.71 trillion in December.

Broker Recommendation

KeyBanc downgraded VMware, Inc. VMW from Overweight to Sector Weight.

VMware shares fell 0.2% to $132.46 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Alcoa Corp AA reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. However, the company said it projects aluminum segment shipping 2.7 million to 2.8 million metric tons this year, down from the 3 million tons it shipped in 2020.
• Kinder Morgan KMI posted upbeat Q4 results and issued strong FY21 earnings guidance.
• United Airlines Holdings Inc UAL reported a wider-than-projected loss for its fourth quarter. The company also said it expects Q4 adjusted loss of $7.00 per share.
• Tesla Inc’s TSLA California vehicle registrations spiked 63% in the fourth quarter on a year-over-year basis, largely on account of the automaker’s mid-size sports utility vehicle, according to Cross-Sell data, Reuters reported Wednesday..

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