A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Rise Ahead Of Powell's Testimony

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, after the Federal Reserve announced it will begin buying corporate bonds of individual companies. Data on retail sales for May will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on industrial production for May will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET. Data on business inventories for April and the NAHB housing market index for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to testify before Congress at 10:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida will speak at 6:00 p.m. ET.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total coronavirus cases in the country exceeding 2,114,020 with around 116,130 deaths. Russia reported a total of at least 544,720 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 888,270 cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 434 points to 26,109 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 35.85 points to 3,097.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 116.75 points to 9,905.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.7% to trade at $40.40 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.5% to trade at $37.66 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 2.1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 2.1%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 2.1%, while French CAC 40 Index surged 2.1% and German DAX 30 climbed 2.7%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei rose 4.88%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 2.39%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.44% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.1%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded Intel Corporation INTC from Overweight to Equal-Weight and announced a $65 price target.

Intel shares rose 0.7% to $60.49 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Lennar Corporation LEN reported upbeat results for its second quarter on Monday. The company said it expects Q3 new orders of 12,800 to 13,000 and deliveries in a range of 13,200 to 13,400.
• Walmart Inc. WMT acquired CareZone's technology and intellectual property, the retailing giant confirmed to CNBC on Monday.
• Chesapeake Energy Corporation CHK will file for bankruptcy as soon as this week, Reuters reported.
• Celldex Therapeutics CLDX priced its 13.3 million share public offering of common stock at $9.75 per share.