US Stock Futures Edge Higher; All Eyes On Inflation Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade on Tuesday ahead of the inflation data. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Fox Corporation FOX, The Walt Disney Company DIS and The Wendy's Company WEN.

Consumer prices, which have been rising sharply in the recent period, are expected to increase by just 0.2% in July, compared to June's 1.3% headline surge. Year-over-year rates are likely to increase 8.7% overall, versus June's 9.1% surge. Data on wholesale inventories for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET, while the U.S. Treasury budget statement for July will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans is set to speak at 11:00 a.m. ET.

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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 69 points to 32,806.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 11.50 points to 4,136.00. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 51.25 points to 13,082.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.6% to trade at $95.72 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.7% to trade at $89.84 a barrel. Stocks of crude oil in the US increased by 2.156 million barrels in the week ended August 5th, the API said. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.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 94,128,900 with around 1,059,640 deaths. India reported a total of at least 44,190,690 confirmed cases, while France confirmed over 34,117,880 cases.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.1%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index climbed 0.2%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.1%, while German DAX rose 0.3%.

Annual inflation rate in Germany fell to 7.5% in July from 7.6% in June, while annual inflation rate in Italy declined to 7.9% year-on-year in July compared to the 36-year high of 8% in the previous month.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.65%, while China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.54% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.96%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5%, while India’s S&P BSE Sensex slipped 0.1%.

Chinese annual inflation rate accelerated to 2.7% in July from 2.5% in June, while producer price inflation fell to a 17-month low of 4.2% year-over-year in July. Producer prices in Japan climbed by 8.6% year-over-year in July versus a revised 9.4% increase in the prior month.

Broker Recommendation

Raymond James downgraded Micron Technology, Inc. MU from Strong Buy to Outperform and lowered the price target from $72 to $65.

Micron shares fell 0.1% to $59.12 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Coinbase Global Inc COIN reported a wider-than-expected loss for its second quarter and also shared an updated full year guidance.
• Former President Donald Trump’s legal team was reportedly in talks with the U.S. Department of Justice in early June regarding documents stored at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
• The Trade Desk TTD reported better-than-expected sales results for its second quarter and issued strong sales guidance for the third quarter.
• Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk said he sold shares of the automaker to avoid an emergency sale in the “hopefully unlikely” event Twitter Inc TWTR forces his buyout deal to close.

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