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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones jumped around 260 points in the previous session. Markets will be closed on Friday in observance of the Christmas Day holiday.

Data on durable goods orders, initial jobless claims, personal income and outlays will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on new home sales and the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Analysts expect an annual rate of 770,000 for November versus an 745,000 rate in October.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 61 points to 35,693.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 7 points to 4,693.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 10.25 points to 16,180.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 52,510,970 with around 833,020 deaths. India reported a total of at least 34,765,970 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 22,222,920 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.2% to trade at $75.14 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.3% to trade at $72.58 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET, while the Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the recent week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.8% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.4%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.3% while German DAX 30 gained 0.4%. Manufacturing confidence in Italy fell to 115.2 in December from a revised reading of 115.9 in the previous month, while consumer confidence rose to 117.7 in December. Car production in the UK dropped 28.7% year-over-year to 75,756 units in November. Spain's quarterly economic growth was revised higher to 2.6% in the third quarter compared to a preliminary reading of 2%. Import prices in Germany jumped 24.7% year-over-year in November.

Asian markets traded higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.83%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.40% and China’s Shanghai Composite climbed 0.57%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.31%, while India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.7%. The index of coincident economic indicators in Japan increased to 89.8 in October from a final reading of 88.7 a month ago, while the index of leading economic indicators increase to 101.5 in October from 100.2 in the previous month.

Broker Recommendation

Credit Suisse downgraded StoneCo Ltd. STNE from Outperform to Neutral and announced a $22 price target..

StoneCo shares fell 0.9% to $15.79 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Mission Produce, Inc. AVO reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Wednesday.
• Tesla Inc’s TSLA fourth-quarter sales in the U.S. are expected to jump 42.8% to 97,417 electric vehicles from a year ago and 28.8% over the previous quarter, the latest automotive industry forecast from TrueCar reflected on Wednesday.
• Banner Corporation BANR reported a buyback of 1.71 million shares, which is the equivalent of around 5% of its common stock.
• Novavax, Inc. NVAX surge reported initial data evaluating the immune response of its COVID-19 vaccine, NVX-CoV2373, against the omicron variant as well as additional data from its ongoing Phase 2 boost study.

Check out other breaking news here