Benzinga | Oct 7, 2020 06:01AM EDT

A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Climb As Trump Supports Airline Aid

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after President Donald Trump supported signing of the $25 billion airline relief package and $135 billion Paycheck Protection Program. Wall Street fell sharply on Tuesday as Trump stalled the stimulus talks.

Investors are awaiting earnings reports from RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) and Lamb Weston Holdings Inc (NYSE:LW). The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari and Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams is set to speak at 2:00 p.m. ET, while Chicago Fed President Charles Evans will speak at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 164 points to 27,864 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures traded rose 17.25 points to 3,370.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 59 points to 11,332.75.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 7,501,810 with around 210,900 deaths. India reported a total of at least 6,757,130 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 4,969,140 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.2% to trade at $42.14 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.6% to trade at $40.01 a barrel. U.S. crude supplies increased 951,000 barrels for the week ended October 2, the American Petroleum Institute said. The Energy Information Administration's weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today after recording gains in the prior session. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1%, while German DAX 30 slipped 0.1% and London's FTSE 100 fell 0.2%. Spanish industrial production fell 5.7% year-over-year in August versus a revised 6.2% drop in the prior month. Industrial production in Germany also declined 0.2% in August.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.05%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.07% and India's BSE Sensex rose 0.8%. Japanese services PMI gained to 46.9 in September versus a reading of 45.0 in August. Japan's index for leading economic indicators increased to 88.8 in August versus previous reading of 86.7.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at KeyBanc upgraded Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced a $130 price target.

Celanese shares rose 0.4% to close at $111.17 on Tuesday.

Breaking News

* Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) reported an unexpected profit for the third quarter. The company's sales also exceeded analysts' expectations.

* Semiconductor manufacturer Allegro MicroSystems LLC is seeking U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approval for a public offering with a Form S-1 filed on Tuesday.

* Masimo Corporation (NASDAQ:MASI) reported strong preliminary sales forecast for the third quarter. Masimo said it expects Q3 product revenue of $274 million to $278 million. The company also projects full-year product revenue of$1,124 million to $1,128 million.

* SpringWorks Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SWTX) reported a $150 million common stock offering.