A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones dropped 80 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Dicks Sporting Goods Inc DKS, NVIDIA Corporation NVDA, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ANF and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. WSM.

Federal Reserve Governor Randal Quarles is set to speak at 10:00 a.m. ET, while the State Street Investor Confidence Index for May will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 104 points to 34,375.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 13.25 points at 4,198.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 36 points to 13,692.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 33,166,500 with around 590,940 deaths. India reported a total of at least 27,157,790 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 16,194,200 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.3% to trade at $68.68 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.2% to trade at $66.22 a barrel. The American Petroleum Institute, late Tuesday, reported a decline of 439,000 barrels in crude oil inventories for the week ending May 21. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories 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 0.1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.2%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1% while German DAX 30 gained 0.1%. French consumer confidence rose to 97 in May from 95 in the prior month, while manufacturing climate indicator rose to 107 from 104.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.31%, while China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.34%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.85%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.7%. Japan’s index of coincident economic indicators was revised lower to 93.0 in March from preliminary reading of 93.1, while index of leading economic indicators slipped to 102.5 in March from preliminary reading of 103.2. Australian construction output rose by 2.4% quarter-on-quarter for the first quarter, while Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Economic Index increased 0.2% in April.

Broker Recommendation

BMO Capital upgraded Zscaler, Inc. ZS from Market Perform to Outperform and raised the price target from $202 to $225.

Zscaler shares rose 11% to $191.70 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Toll Brothers Inc TOL reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter on Tuesday.
• Facebook Inc.’s FB WhatsApp messaging service has filed a lawsuit against the Indian government seeking to block new rules for social media companies that take effect on Wednesday, the Indian Express reported.
• Nordstrom, Inc. JWN posted a wider-than-expected loss for its first quarter.
• Tesla Inc. TSLA is abandoning the radar in favor of a camera-based Autopilot system for its vehicles.

Check out other breaking news here