A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Gain Following Fed Decision

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones jumped more than 300 points in the previous session. The Federal Reserve maintained its target fed funds rate range of between zero and 0.25% but said it will be accelerating its monthly asset purchase tapering. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Accenture plc ACN, FedEx Corporation FDX and Adobe Inc. ADBE.

Data on initial jobless claims, Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index, housing starts and permits will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on industrial production for November will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET, while the flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index for December will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET. The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for December will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 164 points to 36,090.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 24 points to 4,733.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 93.50 points to 16,381.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 51,290,970 with around 823,390 deaths. India reported a total of at least 34,718,660 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 22,201,220 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1% to trade at $74.60 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.1% to trade at $71.64 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’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 higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 1.1%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 1%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.9% while German DAX 30 gained 1.5%. The IHS Markit Eurozone manufacturing PMI declined to 58 in December from 58.4 in November, while services PMI fell to 53.3 from 55.9. Italy’s trade surplus shrank to EUR 3.888 billion in October from EUR 7.587 billion in the year-ago month. The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing PMI fell to a 3-month low of 57.6 in December, while composite PMI fell to 53.2 in December. German composite PMI dropped to 50 in December from 52.2 in the prior month, while French composite PMI declined to 55.6 in December.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.13%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.23% and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.75%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4%, while India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.3%. Australia's new home sales climbed by 7.7% in November, while unemployment fell to 4.6% in November. The IHS Markit Australia composite PMI fell to a two-month low of 54.9 in December. The au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing PMI fell to 54.2 in December from a final reading of 54.5, while services PMI fell to 51.1 in December. Japan reported a trade deficit of JPY 954.8 billion in November.

Broker Recommendation

Needham maintained Medtronic plc MDT with a Buy and lowered the price target from $145 to $131.

Medtronic shares rose 0.3% to $105.24 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Nordson Corporation NDSN reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Wednesday.
• Amazon.com, Inc AMZN senior vice president Neil Lindsay has been appointed to oversee the retail giant’s healthcare expansion.
• Lennar Corporation LEN reported downbeat earnings for its fourth quarter. The company said it sees Q1 new orders of 14,800 to 15,100.
• Apple Inc AAPL has closed three stores in the United States and Canada on a temporary basis after a reported escalation in COVID-19 exposures among its employees.

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