Five things you need to know before the market opens on Tuesday June 27:
1. -- Stock Nudge Higher On China Stimulus Hints
U.S. equity futures bumped higher Tuesday, while Treasury yields declined and the dollar slipped lower against its global peers, as investors reacted to promising signals on fresh stimulus from China while awaiting what could be key remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over the coming days.
China's Premier Li Qiang told a World Economic Forum conference in Tianjin Tuesday that domestic GDP growth would top 4.5% this quarter, adding the Beijing would accelerate plans to boost demand and open up 'high levels' of the economy to foreign investment.
While light on details, the suggestion, which was paired by a firmer reference point for the recently-weakened yuan by the People's Bank of China, points to near stimulus for both the world's second-largest economy and its biggest foreign exporter.
Asia stocks were higher as a result, with the region-wide MSCI ex-Japan benchmark rising 0.7% into the close of trading, but the momentum failed to flow through into the European session as European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde opened its two-day policy summit in Sintra, Portugal with hawkish remarks on the region's inflation fight.
"It is unlikely that in the near future the central bank will be able to state with full confidence that the peak rates have been reached," Lagarde said, noting that tight labor markets will make its task more challenging.
That assessment won't be lost on Powell, who is due to speak at the Sintra Summit tomorrow, as traders continue to bet that the Fed will resume its rate-hiking cycle next month in Washington.
The CME Group's FedWatch suggests a 77% chance that the Fed will lift rates by another quarter point in July, but is pricing in less than a 20% chance that it will make good on its promise for a follow-on rate hike between now and the end of the year.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was marked 0.02% lower at 102.649 while 2-year Treasury note yields eased to 4.693% in overnight trading and 10-year notes were pegged at 3.739%.
On Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 were indicating an 8.5 point opening bell gain while those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average priced for an 18 point move to the upside ahead of durable goods orders data for the month of May and consumer confidence figures from the Conference Board for the month of June at 10:00 am Eastern time.
The tech-focused Nasdaq is looking at a 60 point opening bell gain.
2. -- Nvidia Shares Gain On Snowflake AI Partnership
Nvidia (NVDA) shares moved higher in pre-market trading after the chipmaker unveiled an AI-focused partnership with cloud computing group Snowflake (SNOW).
Nvidia said it would embed its NeMo enterprise framework, which is used to build and deploy generative AI models, into Snowflake's Data Cloud provide the so-called 'last mile' for businesses looking to develop AI technology.
The move expands the potential market for Nvidia's AI chips and servers, a case that Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore used to boost his rating and price target on the group earlier this month.
"Longer-term we still have conviction that the company's server business remains on a share-gaining path, which will resume in a stronger way once budgets expand again to accommodate both AI investments and legacy infrastructure upgrades," Moore said.
Nvidia shares were marked 1.03% higher in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $410.53 each while Snowflake jumped 3.1% to $175.12 each.
3. -- Walgreens Boots Q3 Earnings On Deck
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) shares edged lower in pre-market trading ahead of the pharma and retail group's third quarter earnings prior to the opening bell.
Analysts expect Walgreens Boots to post an adjusted bottom line of $1.07 per share, up 11.5% from last year, with revenues rising 5.1% to $34.25 billion.
Earlier this month, Walgreens Boots agreed a $500 million settlement with the state of New Mexico that settled claims linked to its role in the nation's opioid crisis. The group detailed a $6.5 billion charge from settlements with several state attorneys general in January that it described as "in connection with the previously announced opioid litigation settlement frameworks and certain other opioid-related matters."
Walgreens Boots shares, a Dow component, were marked 0.28% lower in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $31.50 each.
4. -- Eli Lilly Jumps After Solid Data From 'Triple G' Obesity Treatment
Eli Lilly (LLY) shares moved higher in pre-market trading after the drugmaker published promising details of its developing obesity treatment 'triple G' from a mid-stage trial.
Eli Lilly said a once-weekly injection of the drug, formally known as 'retatrutide'. lead to weight loss of up to 24.2% over the first 48 weeks of treatment in a 338-person study. However, the group noted that a longer duration trial would be needed in order to enable comprehensive evaluation of efficacy and tolerability of this potential pharmacotherapeutic for the treatment of obesity."
"Obesity is a treatable chronic disease with a complex underlying biology," said Dr. Ania Jastreboff, director of the Yale Obesity Resreach Center. "We are now in the midst of a rapidly expanding therapeutic landscape of potential highly effective treatment options."
Last week, Eli Lilly also published results from a mid-stage study of its oral obesity treatment, orforglipron, which showed body weight reductions of between 8.6% and 12.6% for trial patients when compared to placebo.
Eli Lilly shares were marked 1.3% higher in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $458.60 each.
5. -- Lordstown Files For Bankruptcy, Sues Taiwan's Foxconn
Lordstown Motors (RIDE) shares collapsed in pre-market trading after the electric truckmaker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after failing to secure an investment from Taiwan-based electronics group Foxconn.
In a filing submitted to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, Lordstown said Foxconn, the world's biggest smartphone assembler and a key supply chain partner to Apple (AAPL), failed to live up to an agreement to provide $170 million in fund. Foxconn holds an 8.4% stake in the group based on a previous funding around worth around $53 million.
Lordstown Motors, which suspended the production of its signature Endurance truck earlier this year amid a host of supply chain disruptions, is seeking a buyer for the whole of the business, but hasn't yet established a 'stalking horse', or minimum value bidder.
Lordstown Motors shares were marked 56.24% lower in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $1.21 each.
