A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher; Bank Earnings In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq jumped over 1% in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS and Wells Fargo & Co WFC.

Data on import and export prices for March will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Federal Open Market Committee will release its recent Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan is set to speak at 9:15 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will speak at 12:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams is set to speak at 2:30 p.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida will speak at 3:45 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 4:00 p.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan will speak at 6:05 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 17 points to 33,587.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 5.25 points at 4,138.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 21.75 points to 13,997.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 31,345,990 with around 563,440 deaths. India reported a total of at least 13,873,820 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 13,599,990 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.6% to trade at $64.67 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.6% to trade at $61.14 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today . The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.2%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.5%, German DAX 30 gained 0.1% while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.2%. Labor productivity in the UK dropped 4.3% on quarter during October-December 2020, versus a preliminary estimate of a 4.5% decline.

Asian markets traded higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.28%, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.6% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.42%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7%, while India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.4%. Australia’s Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment rose 6.2% month-over-month to 118.8 in April. Core machinery orders in Japan fell 8.5% month-over-month in February.

Broker Recommendation

SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc. GBT with an Outperform rating and announced a price target of $54.

Global Blood Therapeutics shares rose 0.5% to close at $40.18 on Tuesday.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Atlassian Corporation PLC TEAM reported strong preliminary sales results for the third quarter. The company said it sees preliminary Q3 sales of $566 million to $572 million, versus analysts’ estimates of $487.49 million.
• Gilead Sciences, Inc. GILD disclosed that the U.S. FDA has granted accelerated approval to trodelvy for the treatment of metastatic urothelial cancer.
• Bruker Corporation BRKR reported strong preliminary revenue for its first quarter. The company posted preliminary sales of $549 million to $554 million, versus analysts’ expectations of $506.86 million.
• Mercurity Fintech Holding Inc. MFH reported $10 million in private placement.

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