U.S. Stock Futures Edge Higher After Fed Minutes

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade on Thursday following the release of Wednesday’s Fed meeting minutes, suggesting inflation remains the central bank's top priority.

The Challenger job-cut report for June is scheduled for release at 7:30 a.m. ET, while the ADP national employment report for June is scheduled for release at 8:15 a.m. ET. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and international trade report for May will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard and Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.

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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 67 points to 31,080.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 8.50 points to 3,856.75. Futures for the Nasdaq index rose 43.50 points to 11,923.75.

Oil prices traded slightly lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.2% to trade at $100.53 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.2% to trade at $100.53 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, while the EIA’s report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 89,930,460 with around 1,044,550 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,568,880 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 32,687,680 cases.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 1.1%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.5%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 1.3%, while German DAX gained 1.4%. Industrial production in Germany rose 0.2% month-over-month in May following a revised 1.3% rise in the previous month. The Halifax house price index in the UK climbed 13% year-over-year in June, while labor productivity in the country fell by 0.6% on quarter during the first three months of the year.

Asian markets traded higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.47%, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.27% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.26%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8%, while India’s S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.4%. Foreign exchange reserves in Japan fell to $1,311,254 million in June from $1,329,700 a month ago. The index of coincident economic indicators in Japan fell to 95.5 in May from a final reading of 96.8 in the prior month, while the index of leading economic indicators fell to 101.4 from April’s reading of 102.9. Australian trade surplus widened to AUD 15.97 billion in May from a revised AUD 13.25 billion in the prior month.

Broker Recommendation

Piper Sandler downgraded CytomX Therapeutics, Inc. CTMX from Overweight to Neutral and lowered the price target from $10 to $1.5.

CytomX Therapeutics shares dipped 18.8% to $1.60 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• MIND Technology Inc MIND announced that it received orders for sonar and source controller systems totaling approximately $7.7 million.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. BBBY shares gained around 7% in Wednesday's after-hours session after several SEC filings showed recent insider buying.
• Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc SPCE has inked an agreement with Aurora Flight Sciences, Boeing Co's BA subsidiary, to partner in designing and manufacturing its next-generation motherships.
• USANA Health Sciences, Inc. USNA reported preliminary second-quarter results and updated its FY22 outlook. The company said it expects net sales of $1.015 billion- $1.065 billion, versus prior guidance of $1.1 billion - $1.2 billion. It also sees EPS of $3.85 - $4.45, compared to prior guidance of $5.00 - $5.70.

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