A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Tumble Following New Sanctions Against Russia

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones surged more than 800 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE:JLL). HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ), Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZM) and DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (NASDAQ:XRAY).

An advance report on U.S. international trade in goods and wholesale inventories will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Chicago PMI for February is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the Dallas Fed manufacturing index for February will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Data on farm prices for January will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 422 points to 33,552.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 65 points to 4,315.00. Futures for the Nasdaq index tumbled 203.50 points to 13,977.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 4.7% to trade at $98.57 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures climbed 4.7% to trade at $95.87 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs rose by 2 to 522 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported Friday.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 80,567,750 with around 973,110 deaths. India reported a total of at least 42,924,130 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 28,768,100 cases.

Check out this: Insiders Sell Around $16M Of 4 Stocks

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 1.5%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 1.3% and London’s FTSE 100 fell 1.2%. The French CAC 40 Index dipped 3.2%, while German DAX fell 2.4%. Spain’s current account balance swung to a deficit of EUR 1.31 billion in December versus a year-ago surplus of EUR 0.92 billion. Spain's annual inflation rate increased to 7.4% in February from 6.1% in January.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.19%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.24% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.32%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7%, while India’s BSE SENSEX jumped 0.7%. India's fiscal deficit shrank to INR 9.4 trillion in April-January of 2021-22 versus INR 12.3 trillion in the year-ago period. Japan's housing starts climbed 2.1% year-over-year in January, while retail sales in Japan rose 1.6% in January. Retail sales in Australia rose 1.8% month-on-month in January.

Broker Recommendation

BMO Capital downgraded Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) from Outperform to Market Perform and lowered the price target from $75 to $65..

Gilead Sciences shares fell 0.5% to $60.80 in pre-market trading.

Check out this: Executives Buy Over $70M Of 4 Stocks

Breaking News

• W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) reported a 3-for-2 stock split. The company’s board also declared a regular quarterly cash dividend on its pre-split stock of $0.13 per share.
• Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) announced plans to acquire Orchid Underwriters Agency and CrossCover Insurance Services.
• International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) subsidiary IGT Lottery S.p.A. has agreed to sell its Italian proximity payment business to PostePay S.p.A. – Patrimonio Destinato IMELfor€700 million.
• Renewable Energy Group (NASDAQ:REGI) shares jumped more than 32% in pre-market trading after Chevron announced plans to buy the company for $61.50 per share.

Check out other breaking news here