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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones climbed around 300 points in the previous session. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note remained close to 1.62% on Monday. US President Biden, last week, signed the $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief package. Investors are awaiting earnings reports from Healthequity Inc HQY, Select Interior Concepts Inc SIC and 360 DigiTech Inc QFIN.

The Empire State manufacturing index for March is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Treasury International Capital report for January will be released at 4:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 118 points to 32,890.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 10.50 points at 3,952.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 33 points to 12,966.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 29,438,770 with around 534,880 deaths. Brazil confirmed over 11,483,370 cases, while India reported a total of at least 11,385,330 confirmed cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1% to trade at $69.87 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1% to trade at $66.26 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs slipped by 1 to 309 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported Friday.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.9% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.6%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.5%, German DAX 30 gained 0.3% while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.4%. Wholesale prices in Germany rose 2.3% year-over-year in February.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.17%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.96% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.33%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1%, while India’s BSE Sensex fell 1.3%. China's industrial production climbed 35.1% year-over-year in January-February, while retail trade jumped 33.8% year-on-year in the same period. China's new home prices increased by 4.3% year-over-year in February following a 3.9% increase in the prior month. Core machinery orders in Japan declined 4.5% in January versus a 5.2% rise in the earlier period. India's wholesale prices increased 4.17% year-over-year in February following a 2.03% increase in the previous month. Australia's new home sales climbed 22.9% to 5,091 units in February.

Breaking News

• AstraZeneca Plc AZN said that a review of safety data of more than 17 million people vaccinated with its COVID-19 vaccine in the European Union and the United Kingdom showed no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots.
• United States Steel Corporation X issued profit forecast for the first quarter. The company said it expects Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.61 per share, versus analysts’ estimates of $0.73 per share.
• Roche Holding AG RHHBY said it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire GenMark Diagnostics GNMK for $24.05 per share in cash, or about $1.8 billion, on a fully diluted basis.
• Xpeng Motors Inc XPEV said Monday that it will receive $78 million in funding from the investment arm of a local Chinese government for business expansion purposes.

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