Benzinga | Jan 21, 2021 06:09AM EST

A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher On Biden's Optimism

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade on prospects of additional stimulus following Joe Biden's inauguration. Investors are awaiting earnings reports from Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP), IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC).

Data on housing starts and building permits for December, initial jobless claims for the latest week and the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 30 points to 31,126.00 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures traded gained 7.25 points to 3,852.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 57.25 points to 13,351.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 24,438,720 with around 406,140 deaths. India reported a total of at least 10,610,880 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 8,638,240 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.8% to trade at $55.65 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.6% to trade at $52.91 a barrel. US crude oil inventories increased 2.6 million barrels in the week to Jan. 15, the American Petroleum Institute reported. However, analysts were expecting for a decline of 1.2 million barrels.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.2% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.4%. The French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.1%, German DAX 30 gained 0.3% while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.1%. French industry climate indicator rose 4 points to a reading of 98.0 in January.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.82%, China's Shanghai Composite climbed 1.07%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.12% and India's BSE Sensex rose 0.2%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8%. Hong Kong's consumer prices declined 0.7% year-over-year in December. The Bank of Japan left its key interest rate unchanged at -0.1%. Japanese imports dropped 11.6% year-on-year to JPY 5.96 trillion, while exports increased 2% to JPY 6.71 trillion in December.

Broker Recommendation

KeyBanc downgraded VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW) from Overweight to Sector Weight.

VMware shares fell 0.2% to $132.46 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

* Alcoa Corp (NYSE:AA) reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. However, the company said it projects aluminum segment shipping 2.7 million to 2.8 million metric tons this year, down from the 3 million tons it shipped in 2020.

* Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) posted upbeat Q4 results and issued strong FY21 earnings guidance.

* United Airlines Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL) reported a wider-than-projected loss for its fourth quarter. The company also said it expects Q4 adjusted loss of $7.00 per share.

* Tesla Inc's (NASDAQ:TSLA) California vehicle registrations spiked 63% in the fourth quarter on a year-over-year basis, largely on account of the automaker's mid-size sports utility vehicle, according to Cross-Sell data, Reuters reported Wednesday..

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