Benzinga | Aug 10, 2020 06:12AM EDT

A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mostly Higher As Trump Extends Coronavirus Unemployment Benefits

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly higher in early pre-market trade, after President Donald Trump on Saturday signed orders extending Covid-19 relief program. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR), Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY). The Labor Department's JOLTS report for June is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.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 5,044,860 with around 162,930 deaths. Brazil confirmed over 3,035,420 cases, while India reported a total of at least 2,215,070 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 88 points to 27,421 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures traded rose 5.25 points to 3,350. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 1.75 points to 11,121.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.1% to trade at $44.90 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.6% to trade at $41.86 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.8% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.4%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.6%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.5% and German DAX 30 slipped 0.1%.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.39%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.6% China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.75% and India's BSE Sensex rose 0.7%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded Q2 Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:QTWO) from Overweight to Equal-Weight and raised the price target from $73 to $95.

Q2 Holdings shares fell 2.7% to close at $99.80 on Friday.

Breaking News

* Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) is in discussions with China's ByteDance Ltd. for a potential merger with TikTok in the US, the Wall Street Journal reported.

* Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng Inc. filed for an IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission Friday.

* Roper Technologies Inc (NYSE:ROP) is in talks to purchase Vertafore Inc for around $5.5 billion, according to Reuters.

* Hyundai Motor Co reported the launch of a brand dedicated to battery electric vehicles on Sunday.