U.S. Stock Futures Higher; All Eyes On Inflation Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade on Wednesday after recording losses in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL and Fastenal Company FAST.

The Consumer Price Index for June will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Consumer prices are projected to rise 1.1% on the month in June following a much hotter-than-expected 1.0% increase in the previous month. The Federal Open Market Committee will release its Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET, while the U.S. Treasury budget statement for June will released at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Delta Air Lines, Fastenal And 3 Stocks To Watch Heading Into Wednesday

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 87 points to 31,053.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 12.75 points to 3,836.50. Futures for the Nasdaq index rose 52.25 points to 11,831.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.5% to trade at $100.97 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.5% to trade at $97.23 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 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 90,683,220 with around 1,046,610 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,672,150 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 33,005,270 cases.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.7%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 1% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.7%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.4%, while German DAX fell 0.7%. The annual inflation rate in France increased to 5.8% in June, the highest since July 1985, while annual inflation rate in Germany eased for the first time in five months to 7.6% in June. Annual inflation rate in Spain accelerated to 10.2% in June from 8.7% in May. The UK trade deficit shrank to GBP 9.7 billion in May from a revised GBP 9.8 billion in the prior month, while industrial production increased by 0.9% from a month ago in May. The British economy grew 0.5% month-over-month in May following a 0.2% contraction in the previous month.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.54%, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.09% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.22%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2%, while India’s S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.5%. Chinese trade surplus widened to a record high of $97.94 billion in June from $50.14 billion in the year-ago month.

Broker Recommendation

SVB Leerink upgraded BioNTech SE BNTX from Market Perform to Outperform and lowered the price target from $253 to $223.

BioNTech shares rose 2.1% to $164.77 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation AGTC reported pricing of $10 million underwritten public offering.
• Stitch Fix Inc SFIX shares jumped around 10% in pre-market trading after an SEC filing showed that Benchmark's Bill Gurley bought 1 million shares of the personal style service company.
• Bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital's (3AC) assets have been frozen by the New York bankruptcy court after a ruling from a federal judge on Tuesday.
• Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AGIO appointed Brian Goff as Chief Executive Officer.

Check out other breaking news here