A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Flat Ahead Of FOMC Meeting

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq Composite gained around 200 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Pfizer Inc. PFE, Starbucks Corporation SBUX, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. EL and MGM Resorts International AMD.

The Federal Open Market Committee will begin its two-day policy meeting today. Data on factory orders for March and Labor Department's JOLTS report for March will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Factory orders are projected to increase 1.1% in March.

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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 6 points to 32,986.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 1.75 points to 4,152.75. Futures for the Nasdaq index gained 5 points to 13,078.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.3% to trade at $106.21 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.1% to trade at $103.97 a barrel.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 83,170,400 with around 1,021,080 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,085,160 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 30,460,990 cases.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.6%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.4% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.6%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.8%, while German DAX gained 0.5%. The unemployment rate in the Eurozone dropped to a record low of 6.8% in March from a revised 6.9% in February, while annual producer inflation rose to record high of 36.8% in March from a revised 31.5 percent in February. UK’s manufacturing PMI increased to 55.8 in April from a preliminary of 55.3, while unemployment rate in Germany remained at 5%.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.06%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4%. Hong Kong's economy contracted by 4.0% year-over-year in the first quarter of the year. The Reserve Bank of Australia increased the cash rate by 25 bps to 0.35% at its latest meeting.

Broker Recommendation

Piper Sandler downgraded Kellogg Company K from Neutral to Underweight and lowered the price target from $66 to $62..

Kellogg shares fell 1.2% to $66.54 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• BP p.l.c. BP reported an underlying replacement cost profit of $6.2 billion for the first quarter, the strongest since 2008. The company also announced plans to increase its quarterly share buybacks to $2.5 billion before the end of the second quarter.
• DuPont de Nemours, Inc. DD reported downbeat results for its first quarter and issued weak guidance for FY22.
• MGM Resorts International MGM reported better-than-expected financial results for its first quarter. The company also highlighted its tender offer for LeoVegas, which was announced Monday morning.
• Gartner, Inc. IT posted upbeat earnings for its first quarter.

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