A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mostly Higher Ahead Of Earnings Reports

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly higher in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq dropped more than 80 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) and Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG).

International trade report for December is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Analysts expect a deficit of $83.0 billion for total goods and services trade in December versus a deficit of $80.2 billion in the previous month.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 74 points to 35,043.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 6 points to 4,481.75. Futures for the Nasdaq index rose 4.75 points to 14,564.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 78,370,770 with around 928,870 deaths. India reported a total of at least 42,339,610 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 26,605,130 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1% to trade at $91.79 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.8% to trade at $90.55 a barrel. The API’s report on crude oil stocks will be released today.

Also check out: Executives Buy Around $62M Of 3 Stocks

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.5%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.4% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.6%, while German DAX gained 0.4%. Retail sales in Italy increased 0.9% from a month ago in December following a 0.4% decline in November. French trade deficit widened to EUR 11.32 billion in December from a revised EUR 9.76 billion in the prior month, while current account deficit widened to EUR 7.1 billion from EUR 3.4 billion. Industrial production in Spain rose 1.3% year-over-year in December.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.13%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.02% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.67%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.07%, while India’s BSE SENSEX gained 0.3%. The gauge for Japan's service sector sentiment declined 19.6 points to 37.9 in January, while average cash earnings in Japan dropped 0.2% year-over-year in December. The IHS Markit Hong Kong PMI dropped to 48.9 in January from 50.8 a month ago. The NAB business confidence index in Australia climbed to 3 in January from December's 17-month low level of -12.

Broker Recommendation

Morgan Stanley downgraded General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) from Overweight to Equal-Weight and lowered the price target from $75 to $55..

GM shares fell 3.5% to $48.90 in pre-market trading.

Check out this: Executives Sell Over $20M Of 5 Stocks

Breaking News

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Board of Directors has approved a 14% increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.57 from $0.50 per share.
BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) reported an annual profit of $12.85 billion following a big loss in 2020. The company also announced an additional $1.5 billion share buyback program.
Peloton Interactive, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTON) announced plans to cut roughly 2,800 jobs and said John Foley will step down as CEO.
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO) reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed views. The company also raised its FY22 net bookings guidance.