A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Economic Reports; Crude Oil Falls

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the S&P and the Nasdaq surged to another record highs in the previous session. Investors are also awaiting earnings results from Designer Brands Inc. DBI and PVH Corp. PVH.

The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index and the FHFA house price index for June will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET. The Chicago PMI for August will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for August is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 71 points to 35,423.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 8 points to 4,533.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 34.75 points to 15,632.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 39,057,660 with around 638,710 deaths. India reported a total of at least 32,768,880 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 20,752,280 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.8% to trade at $71.65 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.1% to trade at $68.46 a barrel. The API’s report on crude oil stocks will be released later during the day.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2% while German DAX 30 gained 0.6%. The Eurozone consumer price inflation rose to 3.0% year-over-year in August, compared to 2.2% in the prior month. Annual inflation rate in Italy rose to 2.1% in August from 1.9% in July, while Italian economy grew 2.7% on quarter during the three months to June. Spain's current account surplus shrank to EUR 0.28 billion in June from EUR 2.08 billion in the year-ago month. Annual inflation rate in France surged to 1.9% in August from 1.2% a month ago, while quarterly economic growth was revised higher to 1.1% during the second quarter.

Asian markets traded higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.08%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.33%, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.45%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.2%. Japan's housing starts climbed by 9.9% year-over-year in July, while consumer confidence index fell by 0.8 points to 36.7 in August. Industrial production in Japan fell 1.5% in July, while unemployment rate fell to 2.8% in July. Private sector credit in Australia climbed 0.7% in July, while current account surplus increased to AUD 20.5 billion in the second quarter. The official NBS Manufacturing PMI for China dropped to 50.1 in August versus 50.4 in the prior month.

Broker Recommendation

Canaccord Genuity upgraded Digital Turbine, Inc. APPS from Hold to Buy.

Digital Turbine shares jumped 10.6% to $56.66 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Zoom Video Communications Inc ZM reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter, but issued weak earnings guidance for the third quarter.
• B&G Foods Inc BGS has signed an agreement to sell its Portland, Maine manufacturing facility and 13.5-acre waterfront property to the Institute for Digital Engineering and Life Sciences for an undisclosed sum.
• Nordson Corporation NDSN reported upbeat results for its third quarter and raised its FY21 forecast.
• NetEase Inc NTES reported second-quarter FY21 revenue growth of 12.9% year-on-year to $3.179 billion, marginally missing the analyst consensus of $3.181 billion.

Check out other breaking news here