Benzinga | Apr 15, 2021 06:27AM EDT

A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Rise Ahead Of Earnings, Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq dropped around 1% in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Citigroup (NYSE:C), Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH).

Data on initial jobless claims, retail sales, the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index and the Empire State index will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on industrial production for March will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET, while data on business inventories for February and the housing market index for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 11:30 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly will speak at 2:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester is set to speak at 4:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 123 points to 33,747.00 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 19.75 points at 4,137.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 85.75 points to 13,884.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 31,421,360 with around 564,400 deaths. India reported a total of at least 14,074,560 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 13,673,500 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures fell 0.2% to trade at $66.44 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.3% to trade at $66.44 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration's weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today . The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.2% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.4%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.3%, German DAX 30 gained 0.3% while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.5%. The annual inflation rate in Italy rose to 0.8% in March from 0.6% in the earlier month, while French annual inflation rate increased to 1.1% in March from 0.6% in February. Consumer prices in Germany rose 1.7% year-over-year in March. Spain's trade deficit shrank sharply to EUR 1.08 billion in February.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.07%, China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.52% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.37%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5%, while India's BSE Sensex rose 0.1%. India's wholesale prices increased 7.39% year-over-year in March. Australia's unemployment rate dropped to 5.6% in March from 5.8% a month ago.

Broker Recommendation

Needham initiated coverage on Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE:TDOC) with a Buy rating and announced a price target of $235.

Teladoc Health shares rose 0.5% to $189.00 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here



Breaking News

* Dell Technologies Inc (NYSE:DELL) announced planned spin-off of 81% equity interest in VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW). Under the terms, VMware will distribute special cash dividend of $11.5 billion to $12 billion.

* Polestar, the premium Swedish electric car company owned by Volvo Cars Group and China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co (OTC:GELYF) said on Thursday it has raised $550 million from a group of long-term financial investors and is in talks with global investors to raise more funds.

* XPeng Inc. (NYSE:XPEV) has confirmed it is exploring making its own dedicated chips for autonomous driving, CNBC reported.

* American Eagle Outfitters, Inc (NYSE:AEO) said it sees Q1 sales of over $1 billion, versus the $904 million estimate.

Check out other breaking news here