A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Gain Ahead Of Morgan Stanley Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Morgan Stanley MS and Abbott Laboratories ABT. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week, housing starts for March and Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index for April will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

The U.S. is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic with the highest number of cases and deaths around the world. Total COVID-19 cases in the U.S. exceeded 639,660 with around 30,980 deaths. Spain confirmed a total of over 180,650 cases, while Italy reported a total of at least 165,150 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 141 points to 23,532 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 18.9 points to 2,794.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 78.50 points to 8,672.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.4% to trade at $28.09 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.9% to trade at $20.25 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.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.2%, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 1.2% and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.5%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.1%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 1.4%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.33%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.56%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.31% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.1%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded American Water Works Company Inc AWK from Neutral to Buy and announced a $146 price target.

American Water Works shares rose 0.6% to $130.02 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. BBBY reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.
• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced it is dedicating another $150 million in funding for the global efforts against novel coronavirus pandemic.
• GoPro Inc GPRO announced plans to cut more than 20% of its workforce. GoPro reported preliminary Q1 sales of $119 million, versus analysts’ estimates of $148 million.
• Athersys Inc ATHX reported a $50 million common stock offering.