A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Climb Ahead Of Earnings, Initial Jobless Claims Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from DISH Network Corporation DISH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company BMY, Booking Holdings Inc. BKNG and Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. HII. The Challenger job-cut report for April is scheduled for release at 7:30 a.m. ET. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and nonfarm productivity for the first quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 8:30 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari will speak at 12:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker is set to speak at 4:00 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 1,228,600 with around 73,430 deaths. Spain confirmed a total of over 220,320 cases, while Italy reported a total of at least 214,450 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 330 points to 23,843 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 42.85 points to 2,876.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 139.25 points to 9,091.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 4.1% to trade at $30.95 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 5.6% to trade at $25.33 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.4%, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.7% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.9%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.9%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.8%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.28%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.65%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.23% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.7%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Cowen & Co. downgraded Ralph Lauren Corporation RL from Outperform to Market Perform and lowered the price target from $88 to $76.

Ralph Lauren shares fell 1.7% to close at $71.13 on Wednesday.

Breaking News

• CommScope Holding Company, Inc. COMM reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter.
• Fox Corp FOX reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter on Wednesday.
• Paypal Holdings Inc PYPL reported weaker-than-expected sales for its first quarter. The company announced plans to withdraw its fiscal year 2020 guidance.
• Becton, Dickinson and Company BDX reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter. The company also withdrew its FY20 guidance.