A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Gain After S&P 500 Hits Record High

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones surged more than 200 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Qudian Inc. QD, J.Jill, Inc. JILL and Zedge, Inc. ZDGE.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 82 points to 36,049.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 14.25 points to 4,725.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 59.25 points to 16,389.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 50,801,450 with around 817,950 deaths. India reported a total of at least 34,697,860 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 22,189,860 cases.

Oil prices traded slightly higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $75.22 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $71.73 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs rose by 4 to 471 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported Friday.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.3% and STOXX Europe 600 Index climbed 0.6%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.3%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1% while German DAX 30 climbed 1%. Wholesale prices in Germany surged 16.6% year-over-year in November following a 15.2% increase a month ago.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.71%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.17% and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.40%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4%, while India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.9%. Manufacturing Production in Hong Kong surged 7.8% year-over-year in the third quarter following a 5.6% growth in the prior period. Total passenger vehicles sales in India fell 4.7% from the earlier month to 215,626 units in November, while core machinery orders in Japan rose 3.8% in October.

Broker Recommendation

UBS upgraded Pfizer Inc. PFE from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $52 to $60.

Pfizer shares rose 1.6% to $53.62 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Cloopen Group Holding Limited RAAS announced plans to acquire the entire equity interests of Zhuge Inc.
• Kazia Therapeutics Limited KZIA named Karen Krumeich as Chief Financial Officer.
• Intel Corporation INTC will invest $7 billion on manufacturing plant in Malaysia, Bloomberg reported.
• Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk has confirmed the electric vehicle maker has no immediate plans to offer any color wraps for its hotly anticipated pickup, the Cybertruck.

Check out other breaking news here