Benzinga | Nov 23, 2020 06:09AM EST

A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Gain On Covid-19 Vaccine News

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade on positive vaccine news. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) disclosed that its COVID-19 antibody cocktail received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Investors are awaiting earnings from Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY), Agilent Technologies Inc (NYSE:A) and Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN).

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for October is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m., while the flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index for November will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 222 points to 29,434.00 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures traded rose 23.75 points to 3,578.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 50.75 points to 11,956.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 12,246,900 with around 256,780 deaths. India reported a total of at least 9,139,860 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 6,071,400 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.7% to trade at $45.70 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.5% to trade at $43.04 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs slipped by 5 to 231 rigs this week, Baker Hughes reported Friday.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.7% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.6%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.7%, while German DAX 30 gained 1% and London's FTSE 100 rose 0.4%. The Eurozone manufacturing PMI declined to 53.6 in November versus 54.8 in the earlier month, while services PMI tumbled to a six-month low of 41.3.

Asian markets traded higher today. China's Shanghai Composite rose 1.09%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.13% and India's BSE Sensex rose 0.5%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded higher by 0.3%. Australia's manufacturing PMI improved significantly to 56.1 while the services PMI increased to 54.9.



Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Piper Sandler downgraded Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL) from Neutral to Underweight and raised the price target from $25 to $29.

Foot Locker shares fell 2% to $38.50 in pre-market trading.



Breaking News

* AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) and Oxford University's COVID-19 vaccine prevented 70% of the inoculated trial participants from developing COVID-19, early analysis of trial data indicates, Bloomberg reported Monday.

* The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) agreed to acquire a 15% stake in a Saudi Arabian digital payment business for up to $200 million.

* Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) CEO Daniel Zhang said that Beijing's draft rules to prevent monopolistic behavior by China's internet platforms are "timely and necessary," Reuters reported Monday.

* CoStar Group Inc (NASDAQ:CSGP) announced plans to acquire Homesnap, Inc. for $250 million in cash.