A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Gain; General Motors Earnings In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq dipped more than 260 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from General Motors Company GM, Paypal Holdings Inc PYPL and Exelon Corporation EXC.

The ADP national employment report for April will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET. US Services Purchasing Managers' Index for April is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the ISM's services index for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans is set to speak at 9:30 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren will speak at 11:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Master is set to speak at 12:00 p.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans will speak at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 93 points to 34,113.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 15 points at 4,173.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 65 points to 13,601.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 32,512,940 with around 578,500 deaths. India reported a total of at least 20,664,970 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 14,856,880 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.2% to trade at $69.73 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.2% to trade at $66.45 a barrel. On Tuesday, the API said crude stocks dropped by 7.7 million barrels in the week ended April 30. 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 higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.2% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 1.3%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 1%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 1.2% while German DAX 30 gained 1.3%. Producer prices in the Eurozone increased 1.1% in March, following a 0.5% rise in the earlier month. The IHS Markit Eurozone composite PMI edged higher to 53.8 in April from a preliminary reading of 53.7. French composite PMI was revised lower to 51.6 in April from a preliminary reading of 51.7, while German composite PMI slipped to 55.8 in April from a preliminary level of 56.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.49%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4%, while India’s BSE Sensex rose 1%. The IHS Markit Indian services PMI slipped to 54.0 in April from 54.6 in the earlier month, while Australian services PMI jumped to 58.8 in April versus 55.5 in the prior month.

Broker Recommendation

Needham maintained Commvault Systems, Inc. CVLT with a Buy and raised the price target from $76 to $82..

CommVault shares rose 4% to close at $71.27 on Tuesday.

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Breaking News

• T-Mobile Us Inc TMUS reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter and also raised its FY21 guidance.
• United Therapeutics Corporation UTHR reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter.
• Activision Blizzard, Inc. ATVI reported upbeat revenue for its first quarter and also boosted its full-year forecast for adjusted revenue.
• Lumber Liquidators Holdings, Inc. LL reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter, while sales missed views.

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