Benzinga | Aug 19, 2020 06:01AM EDT

A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Lowe's, Target Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade, as investors are awaiting earnings from Target Inc. (NYSE:TGT), Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE:LOW), TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE:HD), L Brands Inc. (NYSE:LB) and NVIDIA Inc. (NASDAQ:NVDA). The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin is set to speak at 3:00 p.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 5,482,600 with around 171,820 deaths. Brazil confirmed over 3,407,350 cases, while India reported a total of at least 2,767,250 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 43 points to 27,760 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures traded rose 5.35 point to 3,392.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 18 points to 11,427.25.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.2% to trade at $44.93 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.1% to trade at $42.44 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration's weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.2% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.1%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.1%, while French CAC 40 Index gained 0.1% and German DAX 30 rose 0.1%.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.26%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.74% China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.24% and India's BSE Sensex rose 0.6%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at KeyBanc upgraded XPO Logistics Inc (NYSE:XPO) from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced a $110 price target.

XPO Logistics shares rose 0.3% to $81.20 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

* Agilent Technologies Inc (NYSE:A) reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter on Tuesday.

* Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) and Roche Holding AG (OTC:RHHBY) disclosed that they are collaborating to develop, manufacture, and distribute the former's COVID-19 antibody cocktail.

* Sabre Corp (NASDAQ:SABR) reported a $250 million offering at $100 per share.

* Sorrento Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRNE) shares dropped over 11% in pre-market trading after the company fired its Chief Financial Officer Jiong Shao.