A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Rise Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade ahead of several economic reports. The Dow Jones surged more than 400 points in the previous session, recovering from a sharp sell-off earlier in the week.

Data on retail sales, import and export prices for April will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on industrial production for April will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET. Data on business inventories for March and the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for May will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan is set to speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 178 points to 34,116.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 28.50 points at 4,135.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 140.50 points to 13,240.75.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 32,852,990 with around 584,480 deaths. India reported a total of at least 24,046,800 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 15,433,980 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.9% to trade at $67.66 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1% to trade at $64.44 a barrel. US natural-gas supplies rose 71 billion cubic feet last week, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is scheduled for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.8% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.5%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.6%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.7% while German DAX 30 gained 0.5%. Spanish consumer prices increased 2.2% year-over-year in April.

Asian markets traded higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 2.32%, while China’s Shanghai Composite climbed 1.77%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.11%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.2%. Hong Kong’s GDP grew 5.4% on quarter during the first three months of the year.

Broker Recommendation

Keybanc maintained Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA with an Overweight and lowered the price target from $305 to $275.

Alibaba shares rose 2.1% to $210.39 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Walt Disney Co DIS reported upbeat earnings for its second quarter, while sales missed expectations. Disney+ ended the second quarter with 103.6 million subscribers. The company had 94.9 million subscribers at the end of the first quarter.
• Coinbase Global Inc COIN released its first quarterly earnings report as a publicly-traded company. The company reported 56 million verified users at the end of the first quarter, versus 43 million in the fourth quarter. On the earnings conference call, the company confirmed plans to offer the meme cryptocurrency, Dogecoin.
• Hyundai Motor Group, the South Korean multinational conglomerate which owns Hyundai Motor Co HYMTF and its sister concern Kia Motors, said on Thursday it will invest $7.4 billion by 2025 to make electric vehicles, upgrade production facilities, and further fund smart mobility solutions in the United States.
• Plantronics Inc PLT reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter, but issued weak outlook for the first quarter. The company also said its ticker symbol on the NYSE will change to "POLY" at the open of market trading on May 24, 2021.

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