A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down; Dow Futures Plunge Over 1100 Points

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after President Donald Trump suspended travel from Europe, excluding the United Kingdom, for 30 days. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and the Producer Price Index for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

South Korea confirmed a total of 7,869 coronavirus cases, while Italy reported a total of at least 12,000 confirmed cases and 827 deaths. Mainland China reported 15 additional confirmed cases with 11 new deaths.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1138 points to 22,437 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 131 points to 2,609.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index dipped 389 points to 7,614.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 5.5% to trade at $33.81 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 5.6% to trade at $31.15 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 5.7%, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 5.7% and German DAX 30 index dropping 5.5%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 5.4%, while French CAC 40 Index fell 5.5%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 4.41%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 3.66%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.52% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 8.18%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded Occidental Petroleum Corporation OXY from Neutral to Underperform.

Occidental Petroleum shares fell 4% to $11.33 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• US President Donald Trump announced suspension of travel from Europe for 30 days. The suspension of travel from Europe excludes the United Kingdom. The travel ban is effective as of Friday.
• Compugen Ltd. CGEN priced 8.3 million share public offering of ordinary shares at $9 per share.
• RadNet Inc. RDNT reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter.
• Zagg Inc ZAGG reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.