A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Climb Ahead Of GDP, Jobless Claims Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones gained around 90 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from CarMax, Inc KMX, McCormick & Company, Incorporated MKC and Paychex, Inc. PAYX.

Data on initial jobless claims and Gross Domestic Product for the second quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Chicago PMI for September is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams is set to speak at 10:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic will speak at 11:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker is set to speak at 11:30 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans will speak at 12:30 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard is set to speak at 1:05 p.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly will speak at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 249 points to 34,514.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 33.50 points to 4,383.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 117.25 points to 14,857.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 43,349,280 with around 695,110 deaths. India reported a total of at least 33,739,980 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 21,399,540 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.5% to trade at $78.50 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.6% to trade at $75.26 a barrel. US crude oil inventories climbed 4.578 million barrels in the week ending September 24th, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.4% and STOXX Europe 600 Index surged 0.6%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.4%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.5% while German DAX 30 gained 0.1%. Annual house price growth in the UK eased to 10% in September from 11% in the prior month, while current account deficit shrank to GBP 8.6 billion in the June quarter from GBP 8.8 billion in the prior period. The British economy grew by 5.5% on quarter during the third quarter. German unemployment rate stood at 3.6% in August unchanged from August’s 16-month low level. Annual inflation rate in France rose to 2.1% in September from 1.9% in August, while Spain's retail sales fell 0.9% from a year ago in August.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.31%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.36%, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.9%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.9% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.4%. Japanese housing starts climbed 7.5% year-over-year in August. Retail sales in Japan dropped 3.2% year-over-year in August, while industrial production fell 3.2% month-over-month. Building permits in Australia unexpectedly climbed 6.8% month-over-month to 18,716 units in August. The official NBS manufacturing PMI for China fell to 49.6 in September from August's figure of 50.1, while non-manufacturing PMI rose to 53.2 from 47.5.

Broker Recommendation

Stifel initiated coverage on ALX Oncology Holdings Inc. ALXO with a Buy rating and announced a price target of $106.

ALX Oncology shares fell 1.9% to close at $73.36 on Wednesday.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Herman Miller, Inc. MLHR swung to a loss in its first quarter, while sales exceeded estimates. The company said it sees Q2 adjusted earnings of $0.55 to $0.61 per share on sales of $1.025 billion to $1.065 billion.
• Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc SPCE disclosed that it was cleared to fly FAA-licensed spaceflights following the conclusion of an FAA inquiry related to the Unity 22 flight in July.
• Facebook Inc FB launched TikTok clone or short-form video content called 'Reels' for Apple iOS and Alphabet’s Android in the U.S. as planned.
• Merck & Co Inc MRK presented a study at a medical conference early Wednesday for its experimental COVID-19 antiviral candidate. Laboratory studies' data showed that molnupiravir is active against variants of the virus. Since molnupiravir does not target the spike protein of the virus, which defines the differences between the variants, the drug should be equally effective as the virus continues to evolve, said Jay Grobler, head of infectious disease and vaccines at Merck.

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