A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Gain; All Eyes On Fed Decision

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after closing mixed in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from General Mills, Inc. GIS, KB Home KBH, H.B. Fuller Company FUL and Steelcase Inc. SCS.

Data on existing home sales for August will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Federal Reserve will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, while Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 168 points to 33,966.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 19.75 points to 4,363.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 43 points to 15,067.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 42,413,480 with around 678,500 deaths. India reported a total of at least 33,531,490 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 21,247,090 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1% to trade at $75.13 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.3% to trade at $71.38 a barrel. The American Petroleum Institute, late Tuesday, reported a decline of 6.108 million barrels in crude oil inventories for the week ending September 17. 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 0.3% and STOXX Europe 600 Index climbed 0.4%. The French CAC 40 Index surged 0.8%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.8% while German DAX 30 gained 0.2%.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.67%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.51% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index added 0.4%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.1%. The Bank of Japan held its key short-term interest rate at -0.1%, while China’s central bank also maintained its benchmark interest rates for corporate and household loans. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Economic Index for Australia slipped 0.3% in August.

Broker Recommendation

Keybanc upgraded Ambarella, Inc. AMBA from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced a $185 price target.

Ambarella shares rose 2.7% to close at $148.92 on Tuesday.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• FedEx Corporation FDX reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, while sales exceeded estimates. The company also lowered its guidance for FY21.
• Zoom Video Communications Inc’s ZM deal to buy customer-service software company Five9 Inc FIVN is being investigated by a U.S. Department of Justice-led panel over the former's ties with China, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a Federal Communications Commission letter.
• Adobe Inc ADBE reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter and issued strong forecast for the current quarter.
• Stitch Fix Inc SFIX reported a surprise profit for its fourth quarter, while sales also surpassed market expectations. The company said it sees Q1 net sales of $560 million to $575mn and adjusted EBITDA of $15 million to $20 million.

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