A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher; Fed Minutes In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade ahead of the release of minutes from the FOMC meeting. The Dow Jones dipped more than 200 points on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 recorded its first drop after gaining for seven straight sessions.

The Labor Department's JOLTS report for May is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. Job openings are expected to increase to 9.300 million in May from a record level of 9.286 million in the previous month. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 12 points to 34,472.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 4.75 points 4,338.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 59.75 points to 14,835.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 33,747,180 with around 605,900 deaths. India reported a total of at least 30,663,660 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 18,855,010 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.6% to trade at $75.00 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.8% to trade at $73.92 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 higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.6%. The French CAC 40 Index gained 0.4%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.6% while German DAX 30 gained 0.9%. House prices in the UK surged 8.8% year-over-year in June following a revised 9.6% increase in the previous month. German industrial output unexpectedly fell 0.3% in May. France recorded a trade deficit of EUR 6.80 billion for May, while current account deficit increased to EUR 2.3 billion in May from a revised level of EUR 2.0 billion in the prior month.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.96%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.4% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.66%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.2%. The index of leading economic indicators in Japan declined to 102.6 in May versus a final reading of 103.8 a month ago, while the index of coincident economic indicators slipped to 92.7 in May from 95. The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Services Index dropped to 57.8 for June compared to 61.2 in the earlier month.

Broker Recommendation

Keybanc maintained Alibaba Group Holding Ltd - ADR BABA with an Overweight and lowered the price target from $275 to $270.

Alibaba shares rose 0.4% to $212.40 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Immersion Corporation IMMR reported strong preliminary results for its second quarter. The company said it sees Q2 non-GAAP earnings between $0.22 and $0.23 per share, versus analysts’ estimates of $0.11 per share. Immersion also expects 90% year-over-year growth in its revenue.
• Apple Inc AAPL is among a list of multiple suitors lining up to buy media company Hello Sunshine, the Wall Street Journal reported.
• Smart Global Holdings Inc SGH reported upbeat results for its third quarter and issued strong forecast for the current quarter.
• Ideaya Biosciences Inc IDYA reported a proposed public offering of common stock of up to $80 million.

Check out other breaking news here