A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down; Crude Oil Jumps Following Saudi Attack

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. The Empire State manufacturing index for September is schedule for release at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 106 points to 27,108 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 13.1 points to 2,995.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 55.5 points to 7,852.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 9.5% to trade at $65.93 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 8.8% to trade at $59.66 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.9%, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.6% and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.8%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.1%, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.6%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.05%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.83%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.02% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.64%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Wedbush upgraded Lowe's Companies, Inc. LOW from Neutral to Outperform and raised the price target from $115 to $135.

Lowe's shares rose 0.1% to $113.40 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Saudi Aramco has had to cut production by as much as 5 million barrels a day after the Houthi rebel group in Yemen led a drone attack on the the biggest crude-processing plant. The shutdown amounts to about 5% of the world’s daily production of crude oil, according to The Wall Street Journal.
• AstraZeneca PLC AZN reported that the FDA has grants Fast Track designation for Farxiga in heart failure.
• Danish company Lundbeck announced plans to acquire Alder BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. ALDR in a deal valued at around $2 billion.
• Noble Corporation PLC NE reported the departure of Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, Adam C. Peakes effective September 9, 2019.