A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Higher Ahead Of Earnings, Fed Speakers

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones jumped around 150 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from McCormick & Company, Incorporated MKC, Micron Technology, Inc. MU, Elbit Systems Ltd. ESLT and Lululemon Athletica Inc. LULU.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams is set to speak at 9:00 a.m. ET, while Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker will speak at 10:45 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 9:30 p.m. ET. The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index and FHFA house price index will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index and Labor Department's JOLTS report for February will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 107 points to 34,960.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 14.50 points to 4,582.50. Futures for the Nasdaq index rose 38.50 points to 15,023.75.

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Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.9% to trade at $111.52 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.5% to trade at $107.50 a barrel. The API’s report on crude oil inventories will be released today.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 81,658,970 with around 1,004,240 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,021,980 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 29,852,340 cases.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 1.3%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.1% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.8%. The French CAC 40 Index gained 2.1%, while German DAX climbed 1.8%. Consumer credit in the UK rose by GBP 1.9 billion in February. Retail sales in Spain rose 0.9% year-over-year in February, while consumer confidence in France declined to 91 in March from 97 in February. Import prices in Germany rose 26.3% year-over-year in February, while GfK Consumer Climate Indicator declined to -15.5 heading to April.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.1%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.1% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7%, while India’s BSE SENSEX rose 0.3%. Retail sales in Australia rose by 1.8% in February, exceeding market expectation for 1%.

Broker Recommendation

Morgan Stanley downgraded Pinterest, Inc. PINS from Overweight to Equal-Weight and lowered the price target from $53 to $30.

Pinterest shares fell 2.5% to $25.80 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• IGM Biosciences, Inc. IGMS shares jumped more than 46% in pre-market trading following announcement of collaboration with Sanofi SNY.
• Grayscale Investments, the world’s largest cryptocurrency asset manager, isn’t ruling out a legal battle with the SEC if a spot Bitcoin BTC/USD exchange-traded fund (ETF) stands rejected.
• Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. PLAY reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Monday.
• AstraZeneca PLC AZN said Ondexxya has been approved in Japan for FXai Reversal.

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