A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Signal Lower Start On Wall Street

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. South Korea confirmed 438 new coronavirus cases, while mainland China reported 139 new confirmed cases on March 4. The Challenger job-cut report for February is scheduled for release at 7:30 a.m. ET. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and nonfarm productivity for the fourth quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on factory orders for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan is set to speak at 6:30 p.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari will speak at 8:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams is set to speak at 8:45 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 434 points to 26,531 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 59.5 points to 3,055.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 166.25 points to 8,730.25.

Oil prices traded slightly higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $51.14 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $46.81 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 0.9%, STOXX Europe 600 Index slipping 0.5% and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.6%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 1.2%, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.6%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.09%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 2.08%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.99% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.45%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded Campbell Soup Company CPB from Underperform to Neutral and raised the price target from $43 to $50.

Campbell Soup shares gained 10.1% to close at $52.72 on Wednesday.

Breaking News

• The Meet Group, Inc. MEET agreed to be acquired by ProSiebenSat.1`s and General Atlantic’s joint company NuCom Group for $6.30 per share in cash.
• American Eagle Outfitters AEO reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Wednesday.
• STMicroelectronics N.V. STM announced plans to acquire a majority stake in Gallium Nitride innovator Exagan.
• Splunk Inc SPLK reported in-line earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales exceeded estimates. The company issued first-quarter and fiscal year 2021 sales guidance below estimates.