A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Economic Reports

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade ahead of earnings and economic reports scheduled for release today. Wall Street closed mixed on Thursday as the Dow Jones added over 50 points, while the Nasdaq tumbled 100 points in the previous session. Investors are also awaiting earnings results from Kansas City Southern KSU, Charles Schwab Corporation SCHW and State Street Corp STT.

Data on retail sales for June will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on business inventories for May and the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams is set to speak at 9:00 a.m. ET, while the Treasury International Capital report for May is scheduled for release at 4:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 49 points to 34,913.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 4.25 points to 4,356.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 10.25 points to 14,797.75.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 33,975,700 with around 608,390 deaths. India reported a total of at least 31,026,820 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 19,262,510 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.2% to trade at $73.58 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $71.73 a barrel. US natural gas supplies surged 55 billion cubic feet last week, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday. 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 mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.4% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.2%. The French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.1%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4% while German DAX 30 gained 0.2%. Passenger car registrations in the European Union surged 10.4% annually to 1.05 million units in June. Italy's trade surplus rose to EUR 5.64 billion in May from EUR 5.62 billion in the year-ago month.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.98%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.03% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.71%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.3%. The Bank of Japan maintained its key short-term interest rate at -0.1%. However, the country’s central bank reduced its GDP projection for the current FY to 3.8% from previous forecast of 4%.

Broker Recommendation

Keybanc maintained Coupa Software Incorporated COUP with an Overweight and lowered the price target from $350 to $300.

Coupa Software shares rose 0.2% to $226.60 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

Alcoa Corp AA reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter on Thursday.

Intel Corp INTC is in talks to buy contract chip maker GlobalFoundries for $30 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources..

Marten Transport, Ltd MRTN reported in-line earnings for its second quarter, while sales missed expectations.

Tesla Inc TSLA electric vehicle registrations soared 85% to 23,556 vehicles in the second quarter in the home state California, compared with a year ago, according to research firm Cross-Sell, Reuters reported Thursday.

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