A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mostly Higher Ahead Of Earnings Reports

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly higher in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq dropped more than 80 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Pfizer Inc. PFE, Centene Corporation CNC and Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG.

International trade report for December is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Analysts expect a deficit of $83.0 billion for total goods and services trade in December versus a deficit of $80.2 billion in the previous month.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 74 points to 35,043.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 6 points to 4,481.75. Futures for the Nasdaq index rose 4.75 points to 14,564.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 78,370,770 with around 928,870 deaths. India reported a total of at least 42,339,610 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 26,605,130 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1% to trade at $91.79 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.8% to trade at $90.55 a barrel. The API’s report on crude oil stocks will be released today.

Also check out: Executives Buy Around $62M Of 3 Stocks

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.5%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.4% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.6%, while German DAX gained 0.4%. Retail sales in Italy increased 0.9% from a month ago in December following a 0.4% decline in November. French trade deficit widened to EUR 11.32 billion in December from a revised EUR 9.76 billion in the prior month, while current account deficit widened to EUR 7.1 billion from EUR 3.4 billion. Industrial production in Spain rose 1.3% year-over-year in December.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.13%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.02% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.67%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.07%, while India’s BSE SENSEX gained 0.3%. The gauge for Japan's service sector sentiment declined 19.6 points to 37.9 in January, while average cash earnings in Japan dropped 0.2% year-over-year in December. The IHS Markit Hong Kong PMI dropped to 48.9 in January from 50.8 a month ago. The NAB business confidence index in Australia climbed to 3 in January from December's 17-month low level of -12.

Broker Recommendation

Morgan Stanley downgraded General Motors Company GM from Overweight to Equal-Weight and lowered the price target from $75 to $55..

GM shares fell 3.5% to $48.90 in pre-market trading.

Check out this: Executives Sell Over $20M Of 5 Stocks

Breaking News

• Yum! Brands, Inc. YUM Board of Directors has approved a 14% increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.57 from $0.50 per share.
• BP p.l.c. BP reported an annual profit of $12.85 billion following a big loss in 2020. The company also announced an additional $1.5 billion share buyback program.
• Peloton Interactive, Inc. PTON announced plans to cut roughly 2,800 jobs and said John Foley will step down as CEO.
• Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. TTWO reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed views. The company also raised its FY22 net bookings guidance.

Check out other breaking news here