A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Rise Ahead Of Earnings, Fed Decision

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from The Boeing Company BA, General Electric Company GE, Microsoft Corporation MSFT, Facebook, Inc. FB and Tesla, Inc. TSLA. Gross Domestic Product report for the first quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the pending home sales index for March is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, while the Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

The U.S. is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic with the highest number of cases and deaths around the world. Total COVID-19 cases in the U.S. exceeded 1,012,580 with around 58,350 deaths. Spain confirmed a total of over 232,120 cases, while Italy reported a total of at least 201,500 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 199 points to 24,244 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 28.05 points to 2,895.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 98.5 points to 8,818.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.7% to trade at $23.12 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 13.1% to trade at $13.96 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.5%, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.1% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.2%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.7%, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.1%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.06%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.28%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.44% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.4%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at BMO Capital downgraded United Parcel Service, Inc. UPS from Market Perform to Underperform and lowered the price target from $95 to $85.

United Parcel Service shares rose 0.2% to $96.65 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Alphabet Inc GOOGL reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, while sales surpassed expectations.
• Blackstone Group Inc. BX purchased a 10% stake in Australia based casino operator Crown Resorts.
• Ford Motor Company F reported a wider-than-expected loss for it first quarter on Tuesday.
• Starbucks Corporation SBUX reported downbeat earnings for its first quarter, while sales exceeded estimates.