A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Jobless Claims, Fed Speakers

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones added around 100 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Moderna Inc MRNA, Kellogg Company K and McKesson Corporation MCK.

The Challenger job-cut report for April is scheduled for release at 7:30 a.m. ET, while data on initial jobless claims for the latest week, and nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs for the first quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams is set to speak at 9:00 a.m. ET, while Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan will speak at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 1:00 p.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Master will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan is set to speak at 6:05 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 21 points to 34,139.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 1.75 points at 4,161.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 18.25 points to 13,509.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 32,557,600 with around 579,270 deaths. India reported a total of at least 21,077,410 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 14,930,180 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.4% to trade at $68.72 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.4% to trade at $65.35 a barrel. US crude-oil inventories fell 8 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today. The Spanish Ibex Index slipped 0.1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.1% while German DAX 30 gained 0.1%. The IHS Markit Eurozone’s construction PMI came in unchanged at 50.1 in April, while French construction PMI rose to 49.8 in April from 49.7 in the earlier month. German construction PMI dropped to 46.2 in April versus 47.5 in the prior month, while factory orders rose 3.0% in March. The IHS Markit/CIPS UK composite PMI increased to 60.7 in April versus a preliminary reading of 60.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.8%, while China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.77%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5%, and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.5%.

Broker Recommendation

Keybanc maintained Central Garden & Pet Company CENTA with an Overweight and raised the price target from $57 to $62.

Central Garden & Pet shares rose 4.1% to close at $53.22 on Wednesday.

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Breaking News

• Zynga Inc ZNGA boosted its bookings forecast for the full year and announced plans to buy mobile game ad network Chartboost for roughly $250 million.
• Moderna Inc MRNA reported the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine against variants in an internal study.
• DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. XRAY reported upbeat results for its first quarter raised FY21 earnings forecast.
• Paypal Holdings Inc PYPL reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its first quarter and raised its FY21 guidance.

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