A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Slightly Higher; Fed Meeting In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade after the S&P 500 index climbed to another record close in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Oracle Corporation ORCL and H & R Block Inc HRB.

The Federal Open Market Committee will start its two-day policy meeting today. The Producer Price Index, retail sales and the Empire State manufacturing index will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on industrial production for May will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET, while data on business inventories and the housing market index will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 15 points to 34,396.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 4.50 points at 4 4,259.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 19 points to 14,143.75.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 33,474,760 with around 599,940 deaths. India reported a total of at least 29,570,880 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 17,452,610 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.3% to trade at $73.07 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.3% to trade at $71.07 a barrel. The API’s report on crude oil stocks will be released later during the day.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.4% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.4%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.5%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5% while German DAX 30 gained 0.7%. The Eurozone trade surplus increased to EUR 10.9 billion in April from EUR 2.3 billion in the year-ago month. The UK unemployment rate dropped to 4.7% during the three months to April. Germany's consumer price inflation rate rose to 2.5% year-over-year in May.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.96%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.71% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.92%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.92% and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.38%. Manufacturing production in Hong Kong surged 2.6% year-over-year in the first quarter.

Breaking News

• Novavax Inc NVAX announced its experimental COVID-19 vaccine remained effective when coadministered with an approved flu shot.
• PDS Biotechnology Corp PDSB reported a proposed common stock offering.
• Nio Inc’s NIO founder and CEO William Li believes electric vehicle sales in China could reach 90% by 2030, reports cnEVpost.
• Ping Identity Holding Corp PING reported an offering of common stock by selling shareholders.

Check out other breaking news here