A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Higher Ahead Of Fed Speakers

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones tumbled 2% in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Fox Corporation FOX, Sysco Corporation SYY and Electronic Arts Inc. EA.

The NFIB small business optimism index for April is scheduled for release at 6:00 a.m. ET. New York Fed President John Williams is set to speak at 7:40 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic will speak at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin is set to speak at 9:15 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester is set to speak at 3:00 p.m. ET.

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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 323 points to 32,484.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 46 points to 4,033.50. Futures for the Nasdaq index rose 205 points to 12,398.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.5% to trade at $ 105.44 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.3% to trade at $102.74 a barrel. The API’s report on crude oil stocks will be released today.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 83,688,180 with around 1,024,750 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,107,680 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 30,574,240 cases.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 1.2%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.9% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.3%. The French CAC 40 Index jumped 1.3%, while German DAX climbed 1.7%. The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany rose to -34.3 in May from a 2-year low level of -41 in April. Industrial production in Italy came in unchanged for March. Retail sales in the UK rose 1.7% in April from a year ago.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.58%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.8% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.06%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1% and India’s S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.4%. Retail sales in Australia rose by 1.6% from a month ago in March, while NAB business confidence index fell to 10 in April from 16 in March. Household spending in Japan fell by 2.3% from the prior year during March.

Broker Recommendation

Piper Sandler downgraded Upstart Holdings, Inc. UPST from Overweight to Neutral and lowered the price target from $230 to $44..

Upstart shares dipped 46.4% to $41.30 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

Groupon, Inc. GRPN reported weaker-than-expected results for its first quarter and issued weak FY22 sales guidance.
Cathie Wood-led Ark Invest Management on Monday sold most of its remaining stake in Twitter Inc TWTR, just days after Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk raised about $7 billion to help fund his $44 billion take-private deal of the microblogging site.
Novavax, Inc. NVAX posted downbeat results for its first quarter on Monday.
Li Auto Inc LI reported delivery of 31,716 vehicles in the first quarter, compared to 2,579 in the year-ago period.