Benzinga | Jun 16, 2021 06:28AM EDT

A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mixed; All Eyes On Fed Decision

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mixed in early pre-market trade ahead of the policy decision from the Federal Reserve. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN).

Data on housing starts, permits, import and export prices will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Federal Reserve will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, while the Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 49 points to 34,239.00 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 1.50 points at 4,245.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 16.75 points to 14,047.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 33,486,090 with around 600,280 deaths. India reported a total of at least 29,633,100 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 17,533,220 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.2% to trade at $74.15 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.2% to trade at $72.25 a barrel. Crude oil inventories fell 8.537 million barrels for the week ending June 11, the American Petroleum Institute said Tuesday. 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 mixed today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1%, London's FTSE 100 rose 0.1% while German DAX 30 dropped 0.2%. UK's producer prices rose 4.6% year-on-year in May, while consumer price inflation rate increased to 2.1% year-over-year.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 0.51%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.66% and China's Shanghai Composite Index declined 1.07%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.1% and India's BSE Sensex fell 0.3%. China's surveyed urban unemployment rate fell to 5.0% in May, notching the lowest rate in two years, while industrial production in the country surged 8.8% year-over-year in May. China's retail trade surged 12.4% year-over-year in May, compared to 17.7% growth in the prior month. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Economic Index for Australia slipped 0.06% month-over-month during May. Core machinery orders in Japan climbed 0.6% month-over-month in April, while trade deficit narrowed to JPY 187.1 billion in May from a JPY 856.7 billion gap in the year-ago period.

Broker Recommendation

Goldman Sachs upgraded Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) from Neutral to Buy and announced a $72 price target.

Evergy shares rose 1.2% to $65.26 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

* Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter, but issued weak profit forecast for the current quarter.

* Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) named company veteran John Culver as its new chief operating officer replacing Roz Brewer, who left the company in January to become CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance.

* Novavax Inc (NASDAQ:NVAX) COVID-19 vaccine, marketed as "Covovax," could see a launch in India as early as September, Moneycontrol reported.

* General Motors Co (NYSE:GM) will boost spending on electric and autonomous vehicles to $35 billion through 2025, a 30% jump over its previous forecast under a new plan, Reuters reported.

Check out other breaking news here