A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Higher Ahead Of PMI Numbers

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq jumped over 200 points in the previous session following upbeat reading on initial jobless claims. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Foot Locker, Inc. FL, Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation BAH and V.F. Corporation VFC.

The flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index for May is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. Analysts expect manufacturing index decline slightly to 60.5 in May from previous reading of 60.6, while services index might increase to 64.5 from 63.1. Data on existing home sales for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly will speak at 1:30 p.m. ET, while Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan is set to speak at 4:55 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 79 points to 34,107.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 9.75 points at 4,164.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 35.50 points to 13,522.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 33,056,850 with around 588,530 deaths. India reported a total of at least 26,031,990 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 15,894,090 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.3% to trade at $64.91 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.1% to trade at $61.93 a barrel. US natural gas supplies rose 71 billion cubic feet last week, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is scheduled for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.3%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.1% while German DAX 30 gained 0.2%. Eurozone composite PMI climbed to 56.9 in May from 53.8 in April. German composite PMI climbed to 56.2 in May from 55.8 in the prior month, while French composite PMI surged to 57 from 51.6. Retail sales in the UK jumped 9.2% in April, while composite PMI increased to 62.0 in May from 60.7 in the prior month.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.78%, while China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.58%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.01%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.4%. Retail sales in Australia increased 1.1% in April. Australia’s services PMI fell to 58.2 in May from a record level of 58.8 in the previous month, while manufacturing PMI climbed to 59.9 from 59.7. Japan’s manufacturing PMI fell to 52.5 in May from a final reading of 53.6 in the prior month, while services PMI fell to 45.7 in May from 49.5. Japanese consumer prices fell 0.4% year-over-year in April.

Broker Recommendation

Keybanc upgraded Asana, Inc. ASAN from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced a $40 price target.

Asana shares rose 2.9% to $34.00 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Applied Materials, Inc. AMAT reported upbeat results for its second quarter and issued strong forecast for the current quarter.
• Ross Stores, Inc. ROST reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter, but issued weak earnings forecast for the year.
• China has imposed further restrictions on Tesla Inc. TSLA by banning the electric vehicle maker’s cars inside government compounds, Reuters reported Thursday, citing two people with knowledge of the matter.
• Palo Alto Networks Inc PANW reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter on Thursday. The company also issued projections for FY21.

Check out other breaking news here