Benzinga | Dec 14, 2020 06:05AM EST

A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Climb; Crude Oil Up 1%

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade as the FDA authorized the emergency use of BNT162b2, the mRNA vaccine candidate developed by Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and its partner BioNTech SE -- ADR (NASDAQ:BNTX), for use in individuals aged 16 years and older. Investors are awaiting earnings from Qudian Inc. (NYSE:QD) and Vince Holding Corp. . (NYSE:VNCE).

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 200 points to 30,233.00 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures traded rose 20.75 points to 3,682.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 48 points to 12,416.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 16,256,810 with around 299,180 deaths. India reported a total of at least 9,884,100 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 6,901,950 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.1% to trade at $50.52 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1% to trade at $47.05 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs rose by 12 to 258 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported Friday.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.5% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.8%. The French CAC 40 Index gained 0.8%, while German DAX 30 gained 0.9% and London's FTSE 100 rose 0.3%. German wholesale prices declined 1.7% year-over-year in November but rose 0.1% month-over-month.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.3%, China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.66%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.44% and India's BSE Sensex rose 0.3%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded higher by 0.3%. Japan's industrial production grew at 4% month-over-month in October, while the Tankan Large Manufacturing Index climbed to -10 for the fourth quarter. China's house prices grew 4% year-over-year in November.



Broker Recommendation

Analysts at KeyBanc upgraded Inogen, Inc. (NASDAQ:INGN) from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced a $60 price target.

Inogen shares fell 3.3% to close at $38.46 on Friday.



Breaking News

* Pluralsight Inc (NASDAQ:PS) agreed to be acquired by private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners in an all-cash transaction for $20.26 per share..

* Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ:EA) reached an agreement to acquire Codemasters in a $1.2 billion deal, outshining an earlier offer from rival Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (NASDAQ:TTWO).

* AstraZeneca plc (NASDAQ:AZN) announced plans buy Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN) for $39 billion..

* Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) and TCF Financial Corp (NASDAQ:TCF) agreed to merge in an all-stock deal with a total market value of around $22 billion.