A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up; AMD In Talks To Buy Xilinx

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Dow Jones closed at its highest level in five weeks, rising more than 100 points in the earlier session.

Data on wholesale inventories for August will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. A 0.5% rise is projected in wholesale inventories for August. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin is set to speak at 9:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 117 points to 28,427 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 15 points to 3,452.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 33.50 points to 11,572.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 7,606,590 with around 212,770 deaths. India reported a total of at least 6,906,150 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 5,028,440 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.4% to trade at $43.51 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.3% to trade at $41.33 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is scheduled for release at 1:00 p.m. ET. Domestic supplies of natural gas increased 75 billion cubic feet for the week ended October 2, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today after recording gains in the prior session. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.4%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.5%, while German DAX 30 gained 0.1% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3%. Britain's economy expanded for the fourth consecutive month, rising by 2.1% in August. However, the country’s industrial production rose 0.3% in August, versus a 5.2% surge in July.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.12%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.20%, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 1.68% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.1%. As widely expected, the Reserve Bank of India left its benchmark repo rate unchanged at 4% during its October meeting. China’s services activity rose for the fifth consecutive month, with the Caixin general services PMI increasing to 54.8 in September.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Truist Securities downgraded Amgen, Inc. AMGN from Buy to Hold and lowered the price target from $268 to $251.

Amgen shares fell 0.1% to $240.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Advanced Micro Devices, Inc AMD is in advanced talks to acquire Xilinx Inc XLNX in a deal valued at over $30 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported.
• HCA Healthcare Inc HCA issued strong revenue forecast for the third quarter. The company said it expects revenue to increase to $13.30 billion versus $12.69 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts project revenue of $12.67 billion for the quarter. The company also announced plans to return around $6 billion in CARES Act funding.
• Extreme Networks, Inc EXTR raised its outlook for the first quarter. The company said it now expects Q1 earnings of $0.05 to $0.08 per share on sales of $233 million to $236 million.
• Matson Inc MATX disclosed upbeat preliminary financial results for its third quarter. The company said it expects preliminary earnings of $1.55 to $1.60, versus analysts’ expectations of $0.96 per share.