Pre-open movers
U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones dipped more than 400 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS), FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) and BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB).
The current account report for the third quarter is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. After a $190.3 billion gap in the second quarter, analysts expect a bigger deficit of $204.8 billion for the third quarter.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 227 points to 35,040.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 31.50 points to 4,590.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 134.50 points to 15,755.75.
The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 52,059,660 with around 828,830 deaths. India reported a total of at least 34,752,160 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 22,215,850 cases.
Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.7% to trade at $72.04 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.1% to trade at $69.34 a barrel. The API’s report on crude oil stocks will be released later during the day.
A Peek Into Global Markets
European markets were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.2% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.8%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.4%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.9% while German DAX 30 gained 0.6%. The GfK Consumer Confidence indicator for the United Kingdom declined to -15 in December compared to -14 a month ago. Producer prices in Italy climbed 22.1% year-over-year in November, while industrial sales increased 2.8% over a month earlier in October. The GfK Consumer Climate Indicator in Germany fell to -6.8 heading into January versus a revised reading of -1.8 in December.
Asian markets traded higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.08%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1% and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.88%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9%, while India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.9%.
Broker Recommendation
JP Morgan downgraded Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI) from Overweight to Neutral and announced a $248 price target..
Cigna shares fell 0.1% to $216.70 in pre-market trading.
Check out other major ratings here
Breaking News
- NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter on Monday.
- Food poisoning at a factory in India that manufactures Apple Inc’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhones reportedly led to protests and subsequent detention of 70 women and 22 men.
- Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) reported upbeat results for its first quarter and issued strong revenue guidance for the current quarter.
- Social media platform Parler announced Monday it was expanding its portfolio to include non fungible tokens or NFT marketplaces.
