Pre-open movers
U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones dropped by more than 100 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW).
Data on durable goods orders for December, Gross Domestic Product for the fourth quarter and initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The pending home sales index for December is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET, while the Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for January will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 20 points to 34,075.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 7.75 points to 4,349.25. Futures for the Nasdaq index climbed 62.75 points to 14,221.25.
The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 74,176,400 with around 898,680 deaths. India reported a total of at least 40,371,500 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 24,553,950 cases.
Oil prices traded slightly higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $88.78 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $88.78 a barrel. US crude-oil inventories increased 2.4 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.
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A Peek Into Global Markets
European markets were mostly lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index slipped 0.1%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.5% and London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.3%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.2%, while German DAX dropped 0.4%. Italy’s industrial sales climbed 2.4% in November, while Spanish unemployment rate dropped to 13.33% in the fourth quarter from 14.57% in the prior three-month period. UK’s car exports dropped 15.4% from a year ago to 46,219 units in December, while car production fell 12.7% to 62,310 units. The GfK Consumer Climate Indicator in Germany rose to -6.7 heading into February versus a revised reading of -6.9 in January.
Asian markets traded lower today. Japan’s Nikkei fell 3.11%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 2%, while China’s Shanghai Composite tumbled 1.78%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.8%, while India’s BSE SENSEX fell 1%. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Economic Index in Australia slipped 0.03% from the same month a year ago in December. Australia's export prices increased by 3.5% on quarter in the fourth quarter, while import prices rose by 5.8%. Profits earned by Chinese industrial firms jumped 34.3% year-over-year to CNY 8.71 trillion in 2021.
Broker Recommendation
HSBC upgraded Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) from Hold to Buy and raised the price target from $250 to $280.
Albemarle shares rose 1.2% to $208.00 in pre-market trading.
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Breaking News
- Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) reported better-than-expected earnings and sales results for its fourth quarter. The company produced 305,840 vehicles in the fourth quarter, up 70% year-over-year. A total of 308,650 vehicles were delivered in the fourth quarter, up 71% year-over-year.
- SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) announced plans to acquire a majority stake of Taulia, a leading provider of working capital management solutions.
- Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) reported better-than-expected earnings and sales results for its fourth quarter, but issued weak profit forecast for the first quarter.
- Celestica Inc. (NYSE:CLS) reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter.
