A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Manufacturing Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones and S&P 500 closed at fresh highs on the first trading day of new year. Investors are awaiting earnings results from SMART Global Holdings, Inc. SGH.

The ISM manufacturing composite index for December will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Analysts expect manufacturing index declining to 60.5 for December from November’s reading of 61.1. The Labor Department's JOLTS report for November is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 76 points to 36,531.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 10 points to 4,796.00. Futures for the Nasdaq index gained 29.75 points to 16,515.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 57,131,180 with around 848,880 deaths. India reported a total of at least 34,960,260 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 22,305,070 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.5% to trade at $79.36 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.5% to trade at $76.47 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 STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.6%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index gained 0.3% and London’s FTSE 100 jumped 1.2%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 1%, while German DAX rose 0.4%.

The IHS Markit/CIPS UK manufacturing PMI increased to 57.9 in December from a preliminary reading of 57.6, while consumer credit rose by GBP 1.2 billion in November. The annual inflation rate in France came in steady at 2.8% year-over-year in December. The unemployment rate in Germany fell to 5.2% in December from 5.3% in the prior month, while retail sales in Germany rose 0.6% in November. The number of people registered as unemployed in Spain fell 76,782 from a month ago to 3.106 million in December.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei jumped 1.77%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.1%. China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.2%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.95% and India’s BSE Sensex jumped 1.1%. The Caixin China general manufacturing PMI climbed to 50.9 in December from 49.9 in the previous month, while Japanese manufacturing PMI rose to 54.3 in December from a preliminary level of 54.2. The IHS Markit Australia manufacturing PMI was revised higher to 57.7 during December from a preliminary of 57.4.

Broker Recommendation

Raymond James upgraded First Solar, Inc. FSLR from Underperform to Market Perform.

First Solar shares rose 2.4% to $90.70 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

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