A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Rise Following Friday's Plunge

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after virologist Barry Schoub, Chairman of South Africa's Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 vaccines, said symptoms related to the omicron coronavirus variant have been mild so far. The Dow Jones dipped over 900 points in the previous session following detection of a new COVID-19 variant in South Africa. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Li Auto Inc. LI, StoneX Group Inc. SNEX and Frontline Ltd. FRO.

The pending home sales index for October is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET, while the Dallas Fed manufacturing index for November will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams will speak at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 126 points to 34,984.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 27.75 points to 4,623.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 134.50 points to 16,185.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 49,099,590 with around 799,410 deaths. India reported a total of at least 34,580,830 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 22,080,900 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 5.1% to trade at $75.22 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 5.5% to trade at $71.87 a barrel. US crude oil inventories climbed 1.017 million barrels in the week ending November 19, the EIA said last week.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.8% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.8%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.7%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.7% while German DAX 30 gained 0.5%. Spain's annual inflation rate increased to 5.6% in November from 5.4% in the prior month. Producer prices in Italy jumped 20.4% year-over-year in October. Consumer credit in the UK rose by GBP 0.706 billion in October, while number of mortgage approvals for house purchase declined to 67.2 thousand in October.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.63%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.95% and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.04%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5%, while India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.3%. Retail sales in Japan rose 0.9% year-over-year in October, versus analysts’ expectations for a 1.1% growth. Australia's business inventories fell by 1.9% quarter-on-quarter in the September quarter, while corporate profits increased 4.0% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter. Profits earned by Chinese industrial firms rose 42.2% year-over-year to CNY 7.16 trillion in the January-October period.

Broker Recommendation

Keybanc initiated coverage on Allbirds, Inc. BIRD with an Overweight rating and announced a price target of $28.

Allbirds shares rose 4.1% to $20.56 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Moderna, Inc. MRNA, which was the second biopharma company to get authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine, is confident it will have something on the table shortly to tackle the latest virus threat. The company’s current vaccine will be tested against the new variant, and its ability to offer immunity will likely be known over the next couple of weeks, the company's chief medical officer Paul Burton reportedly said on BBC's "Andrew Marr Show."
• Virologist Barry Schoub, Chairman of South Africa's Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 vaccines, says symptoms related to the omicron coronavirus variant have been mild so far.
• Tesla, Inc TSLA will likely commence production operations at its Giga Berlin in Germany in December, Bloomberg reported, citing German magazine Automobilwoche.
• The Walt Disney Co. DIS continued its dominance of the U.S. box office over the extended holiday weekend with the release of the animated feature “Encanto,” which grossed $40.3 million across the Wednesday-through-Sunday span from a release in 3,980 theaters.

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