US Stock Futures Surge; Fed Speakers In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after recording gains on Thursday. The Dow Jones jumped around 193 points, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.6% in the previous session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from The Kroger Co. KR and ABM Industries Incorporated ABM.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans is set to speak at 10:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George will speak at 12:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller will also speak at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Data on wholesale inventories for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The second estimate of wholesale inventories is a gain of 0.8%, unchanged compared to the first estimate.
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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 242 points to 32,008.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 33.25 points to 4,038.75. Futures for the Nasdaq index climbed 128.75 points to 12,450.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.9% to trade at $90.84 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.8% to trade at $85.05 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the recent week is scheduled for release 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 96,959,160 with around 1,074,780 deaths. India reported a total of at least 44,484,720 confirmed cases, while France confirmed over 34,663,100 cases.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 1.6%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.6% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index jumped 1.7%. The French CAC 40 Index surged 1.8%, while German DAX climbed 1.6%.

Industrial production in France dropped by 1.6% from a month ago in July versus a revised 1.2% increase in June, while industrial production in Spain gained by 5.3% year-over-year in July.

Asian markets traded higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.53%, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.82%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 2.69%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7%, while India’s S&P BSE SENSEX rose 0.3%.

Auto sales in China surged 32.1% year-over-year to 2.38 million units in August, following a 29.7% growth a month ago. Chinese producer price inflation fell to an 18-month low of 2.3% year-over-year in August from 4.2% a month ago, while annual inflation dropped to 2.5% in August from July's 2.7%.

Broker Recommendation

Jefferies upgraded Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. REGN from Underperform to Hold and raised the price target from $536 to $675.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals shares rose 0.7% to $714.01 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• RH RH reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its second quarter, while sales exceeded estimates.
• Queen Elizabeth II, who served as the head of the British monarchy and royal family for 70 years, died peacefully Thursday at Balmoral in Scotland.
• Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. SWBI reported downbeat results for its first quarter on Thursday.
• Zumiez Inc. ZUMZ reported weaker-than-expected sales for its second quarter and also issued Q3 sales guidance below analyst estimates.

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