A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Rise Ahead Of Economic Reports

Author: Lisa Levin | May 25, 2021 06:44am

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq surged over 1% in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO), Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) and Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE:TOL).

The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index and the FHFA house price index for March will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET. Data on new home sales for April, Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for May and Richmond Fed's manufacturing index for May will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Governor Randal Quarles is set to speak at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 89 points to 34,441.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 13.25 points at 4,207.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 73.25 points to 13,708.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 33,143,740 with around 590,530 deaths. India reported a total of at least 26,948,870 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 16,120,750 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.4% to trade at $68.07 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.5% to trade at $65.73 a barrel. The API’s report on crude oil stocks will be released later during the day.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.2% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.3%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.1% while German DAX 30 gained 0.8%. German economy contracted 1.8% on quarter during the three months to March, while Ifo Business Climate indicator climbed to 99.2 in May from 96.6 a month ago. Spain's producer price inflation surged 12.8% year-over-year in April.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.67%, while China’s Shanghai Composite rose 2.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.75%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1% and India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.1%.

Broker Recommendation

Goldman Sachs upgraded Shake Shack (NYSE:SHAK) from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $107 to $109.

Shake Shack shares rose 5.5% to $89.24 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

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Hydrofarm Holdings Group Inc (NASDAQ:HYFM) announced plans to acquire House & Garden for $125 million.
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