A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Gain; All Eyes On Fed Decision

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade ahead of the interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Jabil Inc. JBL, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. WSM and Lennar Corporation LEN.

Data on retail sales, import and export prices will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on business inventories for January and housing market index for March will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET. Analysts are expecting for an incremental 25-basis-point rate-hike during the meeting. The Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 279 points to 33,811.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 44.50 points to 4,306.50. Futures for the Nasdaq index climbed 228 points to 13,679.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.2% to trade at $101.06 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.9% to trade at $97.27 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 81,244,930 with around 992,300 deaths. India reported a total of at least 42,998,930 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 29,432,270 cases.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index climbed 1.9%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.1% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.9%. The French CAC 40 Index jumped 2.2%, while German DAX climbed 2%. French consumer price inflation rate accelerated to 3.6% year-over-year in February from 2.9% in the prior month. The UK unemployment rate fell to 3.9% during the three months to January 2022, recording the lowest level in two years, while number of people in work dropped by 12,000 on quarter to 32.493 million.

Asian markets traded higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.64%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 9.08% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 3.48%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1%, while India’s BSE SENSEX rose 1.9%. Industrial production in Japan fell by 0.8% in January, while the country reported a trade deficit of JPY 668.26 billion in February versus analysts’ estimates of a gap of JPY 112.6 billion. Average new home prices in China rose by 2.0% year-over-year in February

Broker Recommendation

Canaccord Genuity upgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. ACAD from Hold to Buy and raised the price target from $30 to $31.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals shares rose 3.5% to close at $23.05 on Tuesday.

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Breaking News

• Caleres CAL reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter and issued strong FY22 earnings guidance.
• U.S. listed Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc NIO secured the top rank in a study that ranks car quality in China, CnEVpost reported on Wednesday, citing the report by automotive website Autohome.
• Kingsoft Cloud Holdings Limited KC said it is weighing a dual listing of shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
• General Motors Co’s GM electric crossover Cadillac Lyriq has drawn 233,000 expressions of interest from buyers, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing a company executive.

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