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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq index dipped more than 400 points in the previous session following an increase in bond yields.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 51 points to 32,931.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 13 points at 3,929.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 91.75 points to 12,887.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 29,667,300 with around 539,690 deaths. Brazil confirmed over 11,780,820 cases, while India reported a total of at least 11,514,330 confirmed cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.3% to trade at $64.08 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.4% to trade at $60.84 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.
A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.9% and STOXX Europe 600 Index slipped 0.3%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.6%, German DAX 30 dropped 0.4% while London's FTSE 100 fell 0.6%. Germany's producer prices rose 1.9% year-over-year in February.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.41%, China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 1.69% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.41%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.6%, while India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.2%. The Bank of Japan held its key short-term interest rate at -0.1%, while Japanese consumer prices fell 0.4% year-over-year in February. Retail sales in Australia surprisingly fell 1.1% in February.

Broker Recommendation

KeyBanc initiated coverage on BTRS Holdings Inc. BTRS with an Overweight rating and announced a price target of $20.

BTRS Holdings shares fell 7% to close at $16.42 on Thursday.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• FedEx Corporation FDX reported upbeat results for its third quarter and issued strong FY21 earnings guidance.
• Delta Electronics Inc., a producer of power components for Tesla Inc. TSLA and Apple Inc. AAPL, has cut its workforce in China by about half, the Financial Times reported.
• Nike Inc NKE reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed views. The company also announced plans to resume buyback plan in Q4'21.
• Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc OLLI reported better-than-expected Q4 results and also announced a $100 million increase to its buyback program.

Check out other breaking news here