A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Economic Data, Fed Speakers

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly higher in early pre-market trade, after closing lower in the previous session. ByteDance plans to take TikTok public in the United States after forming a partnership with Oracle Inc ORCL, the Financial Times reported. President Trump is also expected to rule on TikTok deal soon. The current account report for the second quarter is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for September and the index of leading economic indicators for August will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard is set to speak at 10:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic will speak at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 8 points to 27,930 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 5.50 points to 3,367.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 64 points to 11,154.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 6,675,050 with around 197,640 deaths. India reported a total of at least 5,214,670 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 4,455,380 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.3% to trade at $43.42 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.2% to trade at $41.03 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the recent week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET. U.S. crude inventories dropped 4.4 million barrels for the week ended September 11, the Energy Information Administration reported.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 1.1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.4%, while German DAX 30 rose 0.2% and London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.4%. Retail sales in the UK climbed for the fourth consecutive month, rising 0.8% in August. German producer prices fell for the seventh straight month, declining 1.2% year-over-year in August.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.18%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.47% China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.07% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.6%. Japan reported a drop in its inflation rate, with the consumer price inflation falling to 0.2% year-over-year for August versus 0.3% in July.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded Beyond Meat Inc BYND from Neutral to Underweight and announced a $122 price target.

Beyond Meat shares fell 4% to $151.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Unity Software Inc U, a video game software developer, priced its initial public offering above its prior estimates on Thursday. The company plans to issue 25 million shares at $52 per share. Unity shares will be listed under the symbol "U" on the NYSE and would begin the trading debut on Friday.
• IsoRay, Inc. ISR reported a loss for the fourth quarter, while sales missed expectations.
• Apple Inc AAPL said it will launch an online store in India later in the month featuring its full product line.
• Essential Properties Realty Trust Inc EPRT reported an 8 million share common stock offering.