A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead of Fed Minutes

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones dropped around 100 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Carnival Corp CCL and Lamb Weston Holdings Inc LW.

International trade report for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on consumer credit for February will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans is set to speak at 9:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan will speak at 11:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin is set to speak at 12:00 p.m. ET, while San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 21 points to 33,336.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 3.25 points at 4,067.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 19.75 points to 13,589.75.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 30,847,140 with around 556,520 deaths. Brazil confirmed over 13,100,580 cases, while India reported a total of at least 12,801,780 confirmed cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.9% to trade at $63.32 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.8% to trade at $59.81 a barrel. Crude inventories dropped 2.6 million barrels for the week ended April 2, the API reported. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today . The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.2% and STOXX Europe 600 Index slipped 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1%, German DAX 30 slipped 0.1% while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.7%. UK services PMI was revised lower to 56.3 in March from a preliminary reading of 56.8. French composite PMI was revised higher to 50 in March versus a preliminary estimate of 49.5, while German composite PMI increased to 57.3 in March from a preliminary reading of 56.8. Eurozone composite PMI was revised higher to 53.2 for March versus a preliminary estimate of 52.5, while services PMI rose to 49.6 in March from a preliminary reading of 48.8.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.12%, China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.10% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.91%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6%, while India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.9%. Japan’s index of leading economic indicators rose to 99.7 in February from 98.5 a month ago, while index of coincident economic indicators fell to 89.0 from 90.3. India’s services PMI dropped to 54.6 in March from 55.3 in the prior month, while the Reserve Bank of India maintained its benchmark repurchase rate at 4%. Australia’s services PMI was revised lower to 55.5 in March from a preliminary reading of 56.2.

Broker Recommendation

Wells Fargo upgraded Fox Corporation FOXA from Underweight to Equal-Weight and announced a $41 price target.

Fox shares rose 0.8% to $37.35 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Smart Global Holdings Inc SGH reported upbeat results for its second quarter and issued strong forecast for the current quarter.
• Genworth Financial, Inc. GNW reported termination of merger agreement with China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co., Ltd.
• Homology Medicines Inc FIXX reported a proposed public offering of $50 million of common stock.
• Phreesia PHR reported a 4.5 million share common stock offering.

Check out other breaking news here