A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher; Fed's Powell, Earnings In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones closed slightly higher in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings reports from Lowe's Companies Inc LOW, ViacomCBS Inc. VIAC, TJX Companies Inc TJX and NVIDIA Corporation NVDA.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to testify before the House Financial Services Committee at 10:00 a.m. ET. Data on new home sales for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard is set to speak at 10:30 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida will speak at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 33 points to 31,525.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 7.50 points to 3,885.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 35 points to 13,227.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 28,261,580 with around 502,660 deaths. India reported a total of at least 11,030,170 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 10,257,870 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.5% to trade at $64.79 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.3% to trade at $61.87 a barrel. The American Petroleum Institute, late Tuesday, reported an increase of 1.026 million barrels in crude oil inventories for the week ending February 19. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories will be released at 10:30 a.m.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.4% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.2%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1%, German DAX 30 rose 0.6% while London's FTSE 100 fell 0.3%. French manufacturing climate indicator climbed to 97 in February from a revised reading of 96 in January, while German economy grew 0.3% on quarter during the final three months of 2020.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.6%, China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 1.99% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped 2.99%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.9%, while India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.4%. Hong Kong’s economy contracted 3% year-over-year in the final quarter of 2020. Australian total construction output fell by 0.9% quarter-on-quarter during the three months to December 2020, while wage price index increased 1.4% year-over-year in the fourth quarter.

Broker Recommendation

KeyBanc upgraded BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. BIGC from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced a $75 price target.

BigCommerce shares rose 2.6% to $65.00 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• GameStop Corp GME reported that its Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jim Bell is resigning on March 26. The company has launched a search for a permanent CFO that can help “accelerate GameStop’s transformation,” according to the press release.
• Square Inc SQ reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter on Tuesday. The company also said it has purchased approximately 3,318 bitcoins at a cost of $170 million.
• Toll Brothers Inc TOL reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter on Tuesday.
• Apple Inc. AAPL shareholders have voted to re-elect the company’s entire board of directors and also approved the 2020 executive compensation program, CNBC reported Tuesday. The company also plans to increase the dividend.

Check out other breaking news here