A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Higher Ahead Of Jobless Claims Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after recording sharp losses in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from The Kroger Co. KR, Dollar General Corporation DG and Ulta Beauty, Inc. ULTA.

The Challenger job-cut report for November is scheduled for release at 7:30 a.m. ET, while data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Analysts expect jobless claims rising to 245,000 for the November 27 week from 199,000 in the prior week. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 8:30 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles will speak at 11:00 a.m. ET. San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly is set to speak at 11:30 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin will speak at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 306 points to 34,308.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 31.75 points to 4,540.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 60.50 points to 15,930.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 49,573,120 with around 805,000 deaths. India reported a total of at least 34,606,540 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 22,105,870 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 2.1% to trade at $70.28 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 2.2% to trade at $66.99 a barrel. US crude oil inventories dropped 0.91 million barrels in the week ending November 26th, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. The EIA’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 1%. The French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.7%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.6% while German DAX 30 declined 1.1%. The Eurozone unemployment rate fell to 7.3% in October, while producer prices rose 5.4% from a month ago in October. The unemployment rate in Italy rose to 9.4% in October from 9.2% in the earlier month, while number of people registered as unemployed in Spain fell by 74,381 to 3.183 million in November.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.65%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.55% and China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.09%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.15%, while India’s BSE Sensex gained 1.4%. The consumer confidence index in Japan came in unchanged at 39.2 in November. Retail sales in Australia increased 4.9% in October, while trade surplus shrank to AUD 11.22 billion in October from a revised AUD 11.82 billion in the prior month.

Broker Recommendation

Raymond James upgraded Public Storage PSA from Outperform to Strong Buy and raised the price target from $350 to $375.

Public Storage shares fell 0.5% to close at $325.63 on Wednesday.

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Breaking News

• The Walt Disney Company DIS said its board of directors has named Susan Arnold as its new chairman. Arnold will succeed Robert Iger as chairman of the board when he departs the company at the end of this year.
• Murphy USA Inc MUSA announced its Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase of up to $1 billion to begin upon completion of the current $500 million authorization.
• Synopsys, Inc. SNPS reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and issued strong forecast for FY22.
• J M Smucker Co SJM has sold its private-label dry pet food business, including its manufacturing facility in Kansas, to Diamond Pet Foods Inc, in a cash transaction valued at about $33 million.

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