Pre-open movers
U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq Composite gained around 200 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX), The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) and MGM Resorts International (NASDAQ:AMD).
The Federal Open Market Committee will begin its two-day policy meeting today. Data on factory orders for March and Labor Department's JOLTS report for March will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Factory orders are projected to increase 1.1% in March.
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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 6 points to 32,986.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 1.75 points to 4,152.75. Futures for the Nasdaq index gained 5 points to 13,078.00.
Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.3% to trade at $106.21 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.1% to trade at $103.97 a barrel.
The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 83,170,400 with around 1,021,080 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,085,160 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 30,460,990 cases.
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A Peek Into Global Markets
European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.6%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.4% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.6%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.8%, while German DAX gained 0.5%. The unemployment rate in the Eurozone dropped to a record low of 6.8% in March from a revised 6.9% in February, while annual producer inflation rose to record high of 36.8% in March from a revised 31.5 percent in February. UK’s manufacturing PMI increased to 55.8 in April from a preliminary of 55.3, while unemployment rate in Germany remained at 5%.
Asian markets traded mixed today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.06%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4%. Hong Kong's economy contracted by 4.0% year-over-year in the first quarter of the year. The Reserve Bank of Australia increased the cash rate by 25 bps to 0.35% at its latest meeting.
Broker Recommendation
Piper Sandler downgraded Kellogg Company (NYSE:K) from Neutral to Underweight and lowered the price target from $66 to $62..
Kellogg shares fell 1.2% to $66.54 in pre-market trading.
Check out this: Executives Buy More Than $78M Of 3 Stocks
Breaking News
- BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) reported an underlying replacement cost profit of $6.2 billion for the first quarter, the strongest since 2008. The company also announced plans to increase its quarterly share buybacks to $2.5 billion before the end of the second quarter.
- DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (NYSE:DD) reported downbeat results for its first quarter and issued weak guidance for FY22.
- MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) reported better-than-expected financial results for its first quarter. The company also highlighted its tender offer for LeoVegas, which was announced Monday morning.
- Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) posted upbeat earnings for its first quarter.
