US Stock Futures Higher Ahead Of New Home Sales, Consumer Sentiment Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones jumped around 200 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Carnival Corporation CCL and CarMax, Inc. KMX.

Data on new home sales for May and University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. St. Louis President James Bullard is set to speak at 6:15 a.m. ET, while San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly will speak at 4:00 p.m. ET.

Check out this: Carnival, BlackBerry + 3 Stocks To Watch Heading Into Friday

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 200 points to 30,872.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 28.25 points to 3,828.00. Futures for the Nasdaq index rose 109 points to 11,846.50.

Oil prices traded slightly higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $106.55 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.3% to trade at $104.56 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the recent week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 88,566,960 with around 1,040,230 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,365,010 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 31,963,730 cases.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 1.2%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 1.2% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.6%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 1.5%, while German DAX gained 0.6%. The GfK Consumer Confidence indicator in the UK fell to -41 in June compared to -40 in May. Italian consumer confidence fell to 98.3 in June from 102.7 in the prior month, while manufacturing confidence rose to 110 in June from revised 109.4 in the previous month. The Ifo Business Climate indicator for Germany declined to 92.3 in June from a 3-month high level of 93 in the earlier month. Spanish gross domestic product grew 0.2% on the quarter during the three months ending March.

Asian markets traded higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.23%, China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.89% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 2.09%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8%, while India’s S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.8%. The core consumer price index in Japan rose 2.1% year-over-year in May. China's current account surplus increased to $88.9 billion in the first quarter from $70.9 billion in the year-ago period.

Broker Recommendation

Evercore ISI Group downgraded 8x8, Inc. EGHT from Outperform to Neutral and announced a $6 price target.

8x8 shares rose 5.9% to close at $5.78 on Thursday.

Check out this: U.S. New Home Sales And Other Macro Issues For Friday

Breaking News

• FedEx Corporation FDX reported in-line earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed expectations. The company also issued strong earnings forecast for FY23.
• Zendesk, Inc. ZEN shares jumped over 50% in pre-market trading following Wall Street Journal report that the company is close to a takeover deal with group including Hellman & Friedman and Permira.
• BlackBerry Limited BB reported a narrower-than-expected loss for its first quarter, while sales missed estimates.
• Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. SWBI reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.08 to $0.10 per share.

Check out other breaking news here