U.S. Stock Futures Higher Ahead Of Consumer Sentiment Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade on Friday after closing mixed in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. BR and Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. SPB.

Data on import and export prices for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for August is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET

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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 189 points to 33,493.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 27 points to 4,236.75. Futures for the Nasdaq index rose 93.75 points to 13,405.00.

Oil prices traded slightly higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.4% to trade at $99.96 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $94.44 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.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 94,479,770 with around 1,061,340 deaths. India reported a total of at least 44,223,550 confirmed cases, while France confirmed over 34,169,280 cases.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.4%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.6% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index climbed 0.8%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.5%, while German DAX rose 0.6%.

The British economy shrank 0.6% month-over-month in June following a revised 0.4% increase in May. Imports to the UK declined 0.4% from the previous month, while exports dropped by 4.2% in June. Industrial production in the UK fell by 0.9% from a month ago in June, while trade deficit increased to GBP 11.387 billion in June from a revised GBP 9.119 billion gap a month ago.

The annual inflation rate in France increased to 6.1% in July from 5.8% in the previous month, while unemployment rate rose to 7.4% in the second quarter from 7.3% in the earlier quarter.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 2.6%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.15%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 0.46%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5%, while India’s S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.3%.

Australia's new home sales dipped 13.1% from a month ago in July following a 1.9% gain in the prior month.

Broker Recommendation

Keybanc maintained Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. AIT with an Overweight and raised the price target from $120 to $140.

Applied Industrial shares jumped 12.1% to close at $118.89 on Thursday.

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Breaking News

• Illumina, Inc. ILMN reported worse-than-expected results for its second quarter and issued weak full-year 2022 guidance.
• Australia's competition watchdog said the country's federal court ordered Alphabet Inc's GOOGL GOOG Google on Friday to pay AU$60 million ($42.7 million) in penalties for misleading users.
• Co-Diagnostics, Inc. CODX reported downbeat results for its second quarter on Thursday.
• LegalZoom.com, Inc. LZ reported upbeat financial results for its second quarter, but lowered its full-year revenue guidance.

Check out other breaking news here