Benzinga | Jul 21, 2020 06:00AM EDT

A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Gain Ahead Of Earnings

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 Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO), Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM), Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) and Texas Instruments Incorporated (NASDAQ:TXN). The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for June is scheduled for release at 8:30 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 3,830,920 with around 140,900 deaths. Brazil confirmed over 2,118,640 cases, while India reported a total of at least 1,155,330 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 184 points to 26,817 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures traded rose 24 points to 3,269.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 102.75 points to 11,053.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.3% to trade at $43.84 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.9% to trade at $41.18 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.8% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 1%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.6%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 1.2% and German DAX 30 climbed 1.8%.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.73%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 2.31%, China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.20% and India's BSE Sensex rose 1.2%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JMP Securities downgraded Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) from Market Outperform to Market Perform.

Tesla shares rose 2.8% to $1,689.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

* IBM Common Stock (NYSE:IBM) reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter.

* Immuron Limited (NASDAQ:IMRN) reported neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2.

* Hibbett Sports, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIBB) issued strong sales update for the second quarter. The company said it expects Q2 comparable-store sales to rise in excess of 70%. Comparable store sales for the first half of 2020 are projected to rise by round 20%.

* Pieris Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PIRS) reported a partial clinical hold on PRS-343.