Pre-open movers
U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade ahead of the much-awaited interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA), CVS Health Corporation (NYSE: CVS, and Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER).
The ADP national employment report for April will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET, while international trade report for March is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. The services PMI for April will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the ISM services PMI for April is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Federal Reserve will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET. After increasing its policy target by a quarter point in March, analysts are expecting a half point hike during the meeting. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.
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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 73 points to 33,106.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 10.75 points to 4,180.00. Futures for the Nasdaq index gained 20 points to 13,107.50.
Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 3.2% to trade at $108.32 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 3.4% to trade at $105.86 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released 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 83,240,100 with around 1,021,580 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,088,400 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 30,482,420 cases.
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A Peek Into Global Markets
European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.5%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.4% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.4%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.5%, while German DAX declined 0.3%. Retail sales in the Eurozone dropped 0.4% from a month ago in March, while services PMI rose to 57.7 in April from 55.6 in March. Consumer credit in the UK rose by GBP 1.3 billion in March. The S&P Global France services PMI climbed to 58.9 in April from 57.4 in the previous month, while German services PMI was revised lower to 57.6 in April from a preliminary level of 57.9. The S&P Global Italian services PMI climbed to 55.7 in April from 52.1 a month ago, while Spanish services PMI increased to 57.1 from 53.4.
Asian markets traded lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.11%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped 1.1%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2% and India’s S&P BSE Sensex dropped 1.7%. The Reserve Bank of India surprisingly increased its key repo rate by 40bps to 4.4%. Retail sales in Australia gained 1.6% in March, while services PMI climbed to 56.1 in April from 55.6 in the prior month.
Broker Recommendation
Jefferies downgraded Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) from Buy to Hold and lowered the price target from $60 to $26.
Herbalife shares fell 16.6% to $23.00 in pre-market trading.
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Breaking News
- Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) reported upbeat results for its first quarter and issued strong revenue forecast for the current quarter.
- Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX) reported second-quarter revenue of $7.64 billion, which was up 15% year-over-year. The quarterly revenue was a second-quarter record for the company and came in ahead of a consensus estimate of $7.6 billion.
- Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) reported a narrower loss for its first quarter, while sales topped estimates. However, the company issued a weak outlook for the second quarter.
- Gentherm Incorporated (NASDAQ:THRM) announced plans to acquire Alfmeier's automotive business for €177.5 million in cash.
