A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Rise Ahead Of PMI Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade ahead of the release of PMI data. Wall Street closed slightly higher in the previous session despite initial jobless claims unexpectedly jumping to 419,000 last week. Investors are awaiting earnings results from American Express Company AXP, Honeywell International Inc HON, Kimberly-Clark Corporation KMB and Schlumberger Limited SLB.

The flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index for July is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. The manufacturing PMI is likely to drop to 62.1 in July from previous reading of 62.6, while the services index might decline to 64.6 from 64.8.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 136 points to 34,845.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 19.50 points to 4,379.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 75.25 points to 15,003.75.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 34,281,860 with around 610,170 deaths. India reported a total of at least 31,293,060 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 19,523,710 cases.

Oil prices traded slightly higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $73.82 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.1% to trade at $71.94 a barrel. US natural gas supplies rose 49 billion cubic feet last week, the EIA said. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.6% and STOXX Europe 600 Index climbed 0.7%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.8%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.7% while German DAX 30 gained 0.6%. The IHS Markit Eurozone services PMI climbed to 60.4 in July versus 58.3 in the prior month, while manufacturing PMI slipped to 62.6 in July from 63.4. UK’s retail sales rose 0.5% in June versus a revised 1.3% growth in May. UK services PMI fell to 57.8 in July from 62.4 in the prior month, while manufacturing PMI declined to 60.4 in July from 63.9. German composite PMI climbed to 62.5 in July from June's level of 60.1, while French composite PMI slipped to 56.8 in July from 57.4.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.45%, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.68%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1% and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.5%. Australian services PMI fell to 44.2 in July versus a revised reading of 56.8 in the previous month, while manufacturing PMI slipped to 56.8 from 58.6.

Broker Recommendation

Goldman Sachs downgraded The Boston Beer Company, Inc. SAM from Buy to Neutral and lowered the price target from $1550 to $875.

Boston Beer shares dipped 19.9% to $758.84 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Intel Corporation INTC reported upbeat earnings for its second quarter and raised its FY21 guidance.
• Twitter Inc TWTR reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter and issued strong sales guidance for the current quarter. The company ended the second quarter with 206 million monetizable daily active users, which was up from 186 million in the prior year and 199 million in the first quarter.
• Soon-to-be publicly traded stock and crypto brokerage app Robinhood expects its upcoming quarterly revenue to be lower than previous quarters.
• Snap Inc SNAP reported stronger-than-expected earnings and sales results for its second quarter and also issued upbeat Q3 sales guidance. The company also saw daily active users increase 23% year over year to 293 million.

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