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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade as the country is close to a bipartisan stimulus deal. Investors are awaiting earnings from Toro Co TTC, Lennar Corporation LEN and ABM Industries Incorporated ABM.

Data on retail sales for November will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index for December is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. Data on business inventories for October and the National Association of Home Builders’ housing market index for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Federal Reserve 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.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 88 points to 30,291.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 11.25 points to 3,705.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 40.75 points to 12,632.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 16,724,770 with around 303,840 deaths. India reported a total of at least 9,932,540 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 6,970,030 cases.

Oil prices traded slightly lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.1% to trade at $50.72 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.1% to trade at $47.60 a barrel. Stocks of crude oil in the US climbed by 1.97 million barrels during the week ended December 11, the API reported. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.5% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.9%. The French CAC 40 Index gained 1%, while German DAX 30 gained 1.6% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.2%. Eurozone services PMI climbed to 47.3 in December versus 41.7 in the prior month, while manufacturing PMI gained to 55.5 from 53.8. Consumer prices in the UK rose 0.3% year-over-year in November, while producer prices declined 0.8% year-over-year in November.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.26%, China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.01%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.97% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.9%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded higher by 0.7%. Imports to Japan fell 11.1% percent year-over-year, while exports declined 4.2%. The country’s services PMI declined to a three month low level of 47.2 in December, while manufacturing PMI increased to 49.7 in December.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at KeyBanc downgraded Aptiv PLC APTV from Overweight to Sector Weight.

Aptiv shares fell 0.8% to $121.66 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Aphria Inc APHA and Tilray Inc TLRY agreed to combine to create largest cannabis company.
• IBM Corporation IBM on Tuesday announced it has acquired Expertus Technologies Inc, a Canadian fintech startup offering payments and cash management solutions.
• Apollo Endosurgery Inc APEN disclosed that it has received the FDA clearance for the X-Tack Endoscopic HeliX Tacking System.
• ContextLogic Inc WISH, the owner of Wish, is set to raise $1.1 billion in its initial public offering priced at the top-end of the indicated range. Wish priced 46 million Class A common stock shares at $24 per unit.