A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Earnings, Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq tumbled around 2% in the previous session amid a stalemate on the fresh stimulus package. Investors are awaiting earnings from Oracle Corporation ORCL, Adobe Inc ADBE, Costco Wholesale Corporation COST, Broadcom Inc AVGO and Lululemon Athletica Inc LULU.

The Consumer Price Index for November is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Jobless claims are likely to rise to 724,000 in the December 5 week from 712,000 in the previous week.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 51 points to 30,114.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 4.75 points to 3,677.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 6 points to 12,361.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 15,391,700 with around 289,430 deaths. India reported a total of at least 9,767,370 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 6,728,450 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.8% to trade at $49.25 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.8% to trade at $45.89 a barrel. US crude oil supplies gained 15.19 million barrel last week, the Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday. The EIA’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 mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.2% and STOXX Europe 600 Index slipped 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index gained 0.3%, while German DAX 30 gained 0.1% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4%. The British economy expanded 10.2% during the three months to October, while industrial production increased 1.3% in October. The country's trade balance deficit widened to £12 billion, worse-than-expected £9.6 billion.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.23%, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.04%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.35% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.2%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded lower by 0.7%. Producer prices in Japan fell 2.2% year-on-year last month.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at KeyBanc upgraded Catalent, Inc. CTLT from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced a $120 price target.

Catalent shares fell 2.1% to close at $92.31 on Wednesday.

Breaking News

• Starbucks Corporation SBUX reaffirmed its guidance for FY21 at an investor event. The company also said it expects FY23 and FY24 adjusted EPS growth of 10% to 12% year over year. Starbucks also announced plans to launch a shaken iced espresso and oat milk this spring in its stores in the US.
• Airbnb Inc priced its initial public offering at $68 per share on Wednesday, CNBC reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
• RH RH reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter on Wednesday.
• Sony Corp SNE has inked a deal to buy AT&T Inc’s T anime video streaming subsidiary Crunchyroll for $1.175 billion in cash consideration.