Benzinga | Aug 18, 2020 06:10AM EDT

A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Walmart Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade, as investors are awaiting earnings from Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT), Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) and Agilent Technologies Inc (NYSE:A). Data on housing starts and building permits for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 5,443,160 with around 170,540 deaths. Brazil confirmed over 3,359,570 cases, while India reported a total of at least 2,702,740 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 36 points to 27,811 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures traded rose 4.75 point to 3,384.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 31.50 points to 11,318.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.2% to trade at $45.46 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $42.93 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.5% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.1%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.1%, while French CAC 40 Index gained 0.1% and German DAX 30 rose 0.1%.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.20%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.08% China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.36% and India's BSE Sensex rose 1.1%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Seres Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRB) with an Overweight rating and announced a price target of $40..

Seres Therapeutics shares rose 0.9% to $26.40 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

* Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) has expressed interest to acquire ByteDance's social media platform TikTok in the US and other major markets including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Financial Times reported Monday.

* Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:SHIP) reported a common stock offering and a warrant offering. However, no details of the offering were disclosed.

* Forward Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:FORD) said it acquired substantially all the assets of Kablooe Design.

* Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.