Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade ahead of comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole gathering. Investors, meanwhile, remained concerned over explosions in Afghanistan, which also killed US service members. Investors are also awaiting earnings results from Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) and Hibbett, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIBB).

Data on wholesale inventories, personal income, outlays and U.S. international trade in goods will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for August is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 106 points to 35,266.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 14.50 points to 4,481.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 52.25 points to 15,327.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 38,384,550 with around 633,560 deaths. India reported a total of at least 32,603,180 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 20,676,560 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 1.1% to trade at $70.93 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.3% to trade at $68.32 a barrel. US natural-gas supplies rose 29 billion cubic feet last week, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is scheduled for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.3% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.1%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1% while German DAX 30 declined 0.1%. The consumer confidence indicator in France declined by 1 point to a reading of 99 in August. Import prices in Germany surged 15% annually in July. Consumer confidence in Italy declined to 116.2 in August from 116.6 in July, while manufacturing confidence dropped to 113.4 in August from 115.2 in July.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.36%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.03%, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.59%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.04% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.3%. Profits earned by Chinese industrial firms gained 57.3% from a year ago to CNY 4.92 trillion in January-July, while retail sales in Australia slipped 2.7% in July.

Broker Recommendation

Telsey Advisory Group downgraded Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) from Outperform to Market Perform and lowered the price target from $125 to $102.

Dollar Tree shares rose 0.3% to $93.79 in pre-market trading.

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