A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Surge; Crude Oil Down Over 1%

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones tumbled more than 180 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from United Natural Foods, Inc.. UNFI, Campbell Soup Company CPB and Thor Industries, Inc. THO.

The Labor Department's JOLTS report for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Job openings are likely to hold steady at 10.900 million in January compared to December's higher-than-expected level of 10.925 million.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 473 points to 33,075.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 65.75 points to 4,234.50. Futures for the Nasdaq index climbed 246 points to 13,513.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.2% to trade at $126.43 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.5% to trade at $121.82 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 81,012,950 with around 987,610 deaths. India reported a total of at least 42,975,880 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 29,144,960 cases.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.8%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 2.9% and London’s FTSE 100 climbed 2.1%. The French CAC 40 Index jumped 4.5%, while German DAX gained 4.8%. Industrial production in Italy fell 3.4% from a month ago in January, while payroll employment in the France’s private sector increased by 0.6% to 20.06 million in the fourth quarter.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.30%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.67% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.13%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1%, while India’s BSE SENSEX rose 2.3%. China's annual inflation rate held at 0.9% in February, unchanged from the earlier month, while producer price inflation fell to 8.8% year-over-year in February from 9.1% a month ago. The Japanese economy grew 4.6% on an annualized basis in Q4, while Consumer Sentiment Index in Australia fell 4.2% to 96.6 points in March.

Broker Recommendation

Piper Sandler upgraded Dollar Tree, Inc. DLTR from Neutral to Overweight and raised the price target from $157 to $181.

Dollar Tree shares rose 2.1% to $149.94 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• MongoDB, Inc. MDB reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter and also issued strong FY23 guidance.
• Shanghai Futures Exchange, China’s top commodity bourse, has paused nickel trading after prices hit their upper limit, a day after a similar surge prompted the London Metal Exchange to take similar action, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.
• Stitch Fix, Inc. SFIX posted upbeat revenue for its second quarter, but issued weak sales guidance for the current quarter.
• Midatech Pharma plc MTP reported R&D collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceutical NV on second molecule.

Check out other breaking news here