US Stock Futures Higher; Producer Price Data, Fed Minutes In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade on Wednesday after the Nasdaq index closed lower by more than 100 points in the previous session amid a decline in Meta Platforms, Inc. META shares.

The Producer Price Index for September will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Producer prices, which declined 0.1% in August, are expected to increase 0.2% in September.

The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari is set to speak at 10:00 a.m. ET, while Michael Barr, the Fed's vice chair for supervision will speak at 1:45 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman is set to speak at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Investors are also awaiting earnings results from PepsiCo, Inc. PEP and Wipro Limited WIT.
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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 101 points to 29,367.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 16 points to 3,615.25. Futures for the Nasdaq index rose 70.25 points to 10,915.25.

Commodities

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.4% to trade at $94.63 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.2% to trade at $89.51 a barrel.

Gold futures fell 0.4% to trade at $1,678.50 an ounce, while silver traded down 1.3% at $19.23 an ounce on Wednesday.

A Peek Into Global Markets

Europe Markets

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.4%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.1% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 1%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.2%, while German DAX dropped 0.3%.

Industrial production in the UK fell by 1.8% from a month ago in August versus a revised 1.1% drop in the previous month, while the country’s trade deficit increased to GBP 7.1 billion in August versus a revised GBP 5.4 billion in the prior month. The UK economy shrank by 0.3% month-over-month in August versus a revised 0.1% increase in July. Manufacturing output in the UK dropped by 1.6 percent from a month ago in August.

Asia-Pacific Markets

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.02%, China’s Composite Index rose 1.53%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.78%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1%, while India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.5%.

Japan's core machinery orders fell 5.8% from the previous month in August 2022, while Reuters Tankan sentiment index for manufacturers fell to 5 in October.

Broker Recommendation

Jefferies downgraded The Cooper Companies, Inc. COO from Buy to Hold and lowers the price target from $400 to $295.

Cooper Companies shares fell 2.5% to $250.00 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Intel Corporation INTC is planning to announce a major headcount reduction, running into thousands, as early as this month, reported Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
• President Joe Biden has reportedly said there would be “consequences” for Saudi Arabia for collaborating with Russia to trim oil production, an indication that cracks have appeared in the relationship between the two long-time allies.
• VOXX International Corporation VOXX reported weaker-than-expected earnings results for its second quarter on Tuesday.
• Twitter Inc. TWTR is stepping up its attempts to censor sensitive content by asking users to confirm their birthdates.

Check out other breaking news here