Benzinga | Aug 11, 2020 06:50AM EDT

A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Signal Higher Start On Wall Street

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, after closing mostly higher in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY) and Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI). The Producer Price Index for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly is set to speak at 12:00 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 5,094,560 with around 163,460 deaths. Brazil confirmed over 3,057,470 cases, while India reported a total of at least 2,268,670 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 175 points to 27,854 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures traded rose 14.05 points to 3,366.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 51 points to 11,123.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.7% to trade at $45.31 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1% to trade at $42.37 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.9% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 1.5%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 1.5%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 1.9% and German DAX 30 climbed 1.8%.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei rose 1.88%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 2.01% China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.15% and India's BSE Sensex rose 0.8%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at KeyBanc downgraded Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) from Overweight to Sector Weight.

Consolidated Edison shares rose 0.4% to $75.68 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

* Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:LGND) announced plans to acquire Pfenex Inc (NYSE:PFNX) for $12 per share in cash..

* Gilead Sciences, Inc (NASDAQ:GILD) announced Monday it was seeking complete FDA approval for its drug Remdesivir, which is being used in the treatment of COVID-19.

* Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:INO) reported downbeat results for its second quarter on Monday. The company also expects its COVID-19 vaccine to enter mid-to-late stage human trials in September..

* Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its second quarter after recording $6.6 billion in impairment charges.