A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Rise; Crude Oil Down Over 1%

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones dropped more than 100 points on Thursday following weaker-than-expected jobless claims data. Investors are awaiting earnings reports from Deere & Company DE, ITT Inc ITT and Magna International MGA.

The flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index for February is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET, while data on existing home sales for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin is set to speak at 8:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren will speak at 11:00 a.m.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 78 points to 31,509.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 14 points to 3,923.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 55.50 points to 13,688.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 27,895,980 with around 493,090 deaths. India reported a total of at least 10,963,390 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 10,030,620 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.3% to trade at $63.10 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.5% to trade at $59.61 a barrel. US crude oil inventories dropped 7.258 million barrels in the week ended February 12, 2021, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is scheduled for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.2% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.3%, German DAX 30 rose 0.3% while London's FTSE 100 fell 0.1%. The annual inflation rate in France rose to 0.6% in January, while German producer prices rose 0.9% year-on-year in January. Retail sales in the UK tumbled 8.2% in January. The Eurozone manufacturing PMI climbed to 57.7 in February from 54.8 in January, while services PMI fell to 44.7 from 45.4. Eurozone’s current account surplus increased to EUR 51.9 billion in December from EUR 33.4 billion in the year-ago month.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.72%, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.57% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.16%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.3%, while India’s BSE Sensex fell 1%. Japan’s services PMI dropped to 45.8 in February, while manufacturing PMI rise to 50.6. Japan's consumer prices fell 0.6% year-over-year in January. Retail sales in Australia increased 0.6% in January, while composite PMI fell to 54.4 in February versus 56 in the prior month.

Broker Recommendation

KeyBanc maintained Applied Materials, Inc. AMAT with an Overweight and raised the price target from $104 to $144.

Applied Materials shares rose 4.2% to $118.20 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Applied Materials, Inc. AMAT reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter and issued upbeat forecast for the current quarter.
• Roku Inc ROKU reported a surprise profit for the fourth quarter, while sales also exceeded analysts’ estimates. The company’s active accounts surged 39% year-over-year last quarter. Roku also issued strong sales forecast for the first quarter.
• Apple Inc AAPL is looking to begin manufacturing its iPad devices in India this year in a bid to move away from Chinese manufacturing, Reuters reported.
• Dropbox Inc DBX reported better-than-expected sales for its fourth quarter. The company’s board, on February 12, also approved adding $1 billion to its buyback program.

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