U.S. Stock Futures Edge Higher; Tesla Earnings In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade on Wednesday after the Dow Jones jumped 750 points the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Abbott Laboratories ABT, Tesla, Inc. TSLA and Lithia Motors, Inc. LAD.

Data on existing home sales for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Existing home sales have slowed to an annualized rate of 5.41 million in May, with analysts expecting a slight drop to 5.395 million for June.

Why Crypto-Related Companies Traded Higher; Here Are 72 Biggest Movers From Yesterday

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 42 points to 31,833.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 6.50 points to 3,944.00. Futures for the Nasdaq index rose 27.75 points to 12,301.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.2% to trade at $106.08 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.8% to trade at $102.40 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 91,529,860 with around 1,049,680 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,803,610 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 33,398,040 cases.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.4%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.5% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.4%, while German DAX rose 0.3%. Annual inflation rate in the UK climbed to 9.4% in June, recording the highest rate since 1982, while producer prices climbed 16.5% year-over-year in from a revised 15.8% in May. Annual producer inflation in Germany fell to a three-month low level of 32.7% in June from May’s record level of 33.6%.

Asian markets traded higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.67%, while China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.77% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.11%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.65%, while India’s S&P BSE Sensex rose 1.4%. The People's Bank of China maintained its key rates for corporate and household loans at the recent fixing.

Broker Recommendation

Raymond James maintained Murphy USA Inc. MUSA with an Outperform and raised the price target from $270 to $300.

Murphy USA shares rose 2.5% to close at $275.88 on Tuesday.

Check out this: Tesla, Abbott Laboratories And 3 Stocks To Watch Heading Into Wednesday

Breaking News

• Netflix, Inc. NFLX posted better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter. The company ended the second quarter with 220.67 million subscribers, down from a reported 221.64 million in the first quarter. Netflix also said it will add 1 million net subscribers in the third quarter
• General Motors Company GM unveiled the Chevrolet Blazer EV on Tuesday with availability starting in spring of 2023. The company also stated the vehicle will be made in Mexico at a production facility that currently makes its gas-powered Blazers.
• Omnicom Group Inc. OMC posted stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter on Tuesday.
• The cryptocurrency market continued to recover on Wednesday, with Bitcoin BTC/USD, the world’s oldest cryptocurrency, surpassing the $23,000 level.

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