U.S. Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Jobless Claims, Existing Home Sales Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade on Wednesday after the Dow Jones dropped around 170 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc BJ, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. EL and Applied Materials, Inc. AMAT.

Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index for August will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on existing home sales and index of leading economic indicators for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George is set to speak at 1:20 p.m. ET, while Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari will speak at 1:45 p.m. ET.

Check out this: Volatility In Markets Increases Following Release Of Fed Minutes

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 9 points to 33,972.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 3 points to 4,279.75. Futures for the Nasdaq index rose 12.50 points to 13,505.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.4% to trade at $94.95 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.2% to trade at $94.95 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage 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 95,065,400 with around 1,064,200 deaths. India reported a total of at least 44,298,860 confirmed cases, while France confirmed over 34,276,080 cases.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.4%, while German DAX rose 0.7%.

Annual inflation rate in the Eurozone was confirmed at a fresh record high of 8.9% in July, versus 8.6% in June, while construction output in the Eurozone rose 0.1% year-over-year in June.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.96%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.46%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.80%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2%, while India’s S&P BSE SENSEX gained 0.1%.

Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined to a new record low of 3.4% during July.

Broker Recommendation

Deutsche Bank initiated coverage on Watsco, Inc. WSO with a Hold rating and announced a price target of $311.

Watsco shares rose 0.7% to close at $304.39 on Wednesday.

Check out this: U.S. Jobless Claims And Existing Home Sales Among Biggest Macro Catalysts Today

Breaking News

• Cisco Systems Inc CSCO reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter and issued strong guidance.
• The U.S. on late Wednesday announced that it began formal negotiation talks with Taiwan on a bilateral trade agreement to deepen economic ties, amid frequent warnings from China.
• Keysight Technologies, Inc. KEYS reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter and issued a strong forecast for the fourth quarter.
• Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc. AXDX reported a proposed public offering of common stock.

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