A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Signal Higher Start On Wall Street

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, after posting strong gains in the previous session on hopes of another round of stimulus. President Donald Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Saturday to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Investors are awaiting earnings from Thor Industries, Inc. THO, United Natural Foods Inc UNFI and Cal-Maine Foods Inc CALM. The Dallas Fed manufacturing index for September will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 230 points to 27,273 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 27.25 points to 3,314.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index jumped 122 points to 11,258.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 7,115,330 with around 204,750 deaths. India reported a total of at least 6,074,700 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 4,732,300 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures fell 0.7% to trade at $42.10 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.8% to trade at $39.92 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs rose by 4 to 183 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported Friday.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, rebounding from sharp losses in the prior week. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.4% and STOXX Europe 600 Index climbed 1.7%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 1.9%, while German DAX 30 jumped 2.4% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.8%.

Asian markets traded mostly higher following a rally on the Wall Street in the previous session. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.32%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.01% China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.06% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.5%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at KeyBanc upgraded United Parcel Service, Inc. UPS from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced a $190 price target.

UPS shares rose 3.6% to close at $166.12 on Friday.

Breaking News

• ArcelorMittal MT agreed to sell its US arm to Cleveland-Cliffs CLF in a transaction worth $3.3 billion.
• Devon Energy Corp DVN and WPX Energy Inc WPX are in talks for a merger that is expected to close sometime this week, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• Tesla Inc TSLA has signed a five-year deal with Australia’s Piedmont Lithium Limited PLL for the supply of high-purity lithium ore, Reuters reported Sunday.
• Cleveland-Cliffs Inc CLF announced Monday it has signed an agreement to purchasethe United States unit of ArcelorMittal S.A. MT.