A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Rise Ahead Of Bank Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq surged more than 100 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Citigroup Inc C, Bank of America Corp BAC, Wells Fargo & Co WFC, Morgan Stanley MS and Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. WBA.

Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and Producer Price Index for September will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard is set to speak at 8:35 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic will speak at 9:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin and Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker is set to speak at 6:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 182 points to 34,439.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 29.25 points to 4,384.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 127.25 points to 14,891.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 45,547,920 with around 739,770 deaths. India reported a total of at least 34,019,680 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 21,597,940 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1% to trade at $84.02 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1% to trade at $81.23 a barrel. Stocks of crude oil in the US rose 5.123 million barrels in the week ended October 8, the API said. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET, while the EIA’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.9% and STOXX Europe 600 Index climbed 0.9%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.8%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7% while German DAX 30 gained 0.7%. Spanish annual inflation climbed for a third consecutive month to 4% in August.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.46%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.01% and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.10%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.8%. The annual wholesale price inflation rate in India dropped to a six-month low level of 10.66% in September from 11.39% a month ago. Industrial production in Japan fell by 3.6% in August. China's producer prices surged 10.7% year-over-year in September, while annual inflation rate fell to 0.7% in September. Australian unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in September from 4.5% in August.

Broker Recommendation

Credit Suisse upgraded ArcelorMittal MT from Neutral to Outperform and raised the price target from $34 to $42.

ArcelorMittal shares rose 2.2% to $31.69 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• WD-40 Company WDFC reported a new $75 million buyback program.
• Huttig Building Products Inc HBP reported a review of strategic alternatives.
• Amazon.com Inc. AMZN is planning to buy used long-range Boeing Co. BA and Airbus SE EADSY cargo planes that can fly directly from China to the U.S., Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
• Ford Motor Co F has vacated its seat on the board of electric vehicle startup Rivian Automotive Inc ahead of the latter's initial public offering, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

Check out other breaking news here