Pre-open movers
U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones dipped more than 600 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Deere & Company (NYSE:DE), PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) and Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN).
Data on existing home sales for January and index of leading economic indicators for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Census Bureau quarterly services survey report for the fourth quarter is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans is set to speak at 10:15 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams will speak at 11:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard is set to speak at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 136 points to 34,367.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 21.50 points to 4,396.00. Futures for the Nasdaq index jumped 85.25 points to 14,250.00.
Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.7% to trade at $91.41 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.9% to trade at $90.06 a barrel. U.S. natural-gas supplies dropped 190 billion cubic feet last week, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.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 79,915,730 with around 955,490 deaths. India reported a total of at least 42,780,230 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 27,941,470 cases.
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A Peek Into Global Markets
European markets were mixed today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.1%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.2% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.3%, while German DAX dropped 0.1%. The Euro Area current account surplus shrank to EUR 35.6 billion in December from EUR 42.3 billion in the year-ago month. French consumer price inflation rate was confirmed at 2.9% year-over-year in January, while unemployment rate in the country dropped to 7.4% in the fourth quarter from a revised 8.0% in the prior period. Retail sales in the UK rose 1.9% from a month earlier in January
Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.41%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped 1.88% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.66%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1%, while India’s BSE SENSEX fell 0.2%. Auto sales in China rose 0.9% year-over-year to 2.53 million units in January. Japanese consumer prices increased 0.5% year-over-year in January.
Broker Recommendation
JP Morgan upgraded Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) from Underweight to Neutral and lowered the price target from $80 to $68.
Cognex shares gained 10.7% to $68.25 in pre-market trading.
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Breaking News
- Dropbox, Inc. (NASDAQ:DBX) reported better-than-expected earnings and sales results for its fourth quarter.
- Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter.
- Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) posted downbeat revenue for its fourth quarter and issued weak sales forecast for the first quarter.
- Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F) and China’s Geely Automobile-owned Volvo Cars have partnered with Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) co-founder JB Straubel’s Redwood Materials for an electric vehicle battery recycling venture program in California.
