Benzinga | Aug 25, 2021 06:04AM EDT

A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Jackson Hole Meeting

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade ahead of the key Jackson Hole Symposium later during the week. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at new highs in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Dicks Sporting Goods Inc (NYSE:DKS), salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM), Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM).

Data on durable goods orders for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Analysts expect durable goods orders declining 0.2% in July, while orders for core capital goods might rise 0.5%. The State Street Investor Confidence Index for August is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly is set to speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 13 points to 35,327.00 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 2.50 points to 4,485.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 15.50 points to 15,371.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 38,075,080 with around 630,810 deaths. India reported a total of at least 32,512,360 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 20,614,860 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures dropped 0.3% to trade at $70.87 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.4% to trade at $67.26 a barrel. The American Petroleum Institute, late Tuesday, reported a draw of 1.622 million barrels in crude oil inventories for the week ending August 20. 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 mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.2% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1%, London's FTSE 100 rose 0.2% while German DAX 30 declined 0.1%. Producer prices in Spain surged 15.3% year-over-year in July. The Ifo Business Climate indicator for Germany declined to a three-month low level of 99.4 in August.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.03%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.13%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.74%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% and India's BSE Sensex slipped 0.1%. The index of coincident economic indicators in Japan increased to 94.5 in June versus the preliminary reading of 94.0, while the index of leading economic indicators came in at 104.1, unrevised versus the preliminary reading. Australia's construction output increased 0.8% quarter-on-quarter during the three months to June.

Broker Recommendation

Barclays upgraded FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) from Equal-Weight to Overweight and raised the price target from $340 to $450.

FactSet Research shares rose 0.3% to close at $367.64 on Tuesday.

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Breaking News * Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE:TOL) reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter. The company also said it expects Q4 deliveries of 3,450 units.

* Alphabet Inc's (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) self-driving subsidiary Waymo has opened up its driver-supported robotaxis in San Francisco to select riders, an important step in a key market for the startup.

* Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN) reported upbeat earnings for its second quarter and also boosted its annual revenue guidance. However, the company's quarterly revenue slipped 6% compared to pre-pandemic levels.

* HEICO Corporation (NYSE:HEI) reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed estimates.

Check out other breaking news here