A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Tumble Ahead Of GDP Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. South Korea’s total number of cases surged to 1,595 on Wednesday, while China reported 433 new cases. Data on durable goods orders for January, Gross Domestic Product for the fourth quarter and initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The pending sales index for January is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET, while the Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for February is scheduled for release at 11:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans is set speak at 11:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 246 points to 26,668 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 27.7 points to 3,082.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 73.5 points to 8,776.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 2.1% to trade at $51.69 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 2.2% to trade at $47.65 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 2.2%, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 2.5% and German DAX 30 index declining 2.5%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 1.9%, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 2.3%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 2.13%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.31%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.11% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.36%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Stephens & Co. reiterated Trex Company, Inc. TREX with an Equal-Weight and raised the price target from $94 to $100.

Trex shares fell 5% to close at $98.47 on Wednesday.

Breaking News

• Microsoft Corporation MSFT said it does not expect to meet its Q3 revenue outlook for its Windows and personal computing segment due to coronavirus.
• Acushnet Holdings Corp. GOLF reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter and raised its quarterly dividend.
• Booking Holdings Inc BKNG reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter, but warned investors that COVID-19 would impact its Q1 results. The company projects a 10% to 15% decline in total gross travel bookings and issued weak earnings forecast for the first quarter.
• ACI Worldwide, Inc. ACIW reported downbeat results for its fourth quarter.