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. Data on housing starts and permits for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

South Korea confirmed a total of over 8,400 coronavirus cases, while Italy reported a total of at least 31,500 confirmed cases and 2,500 deaths. Total cases in the US exceeded 6,400 with around 114 deaths.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 821 points to 20,039 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 92 points to 2,393.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 328 points to 7,064.25.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 2.9% to trade at $27.89 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 5.7% to trade at $25.41 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. 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 3.7%, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 3.5% and German DAX 30 index dropping 4.4%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 5%, while French CAC 40 Index fell 4.7%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.68%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 4.18%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.83% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 2.58%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at B of A Securities upgraded Tesla, Inc. TSLA from Underperform to Neutral and raised the price target from $370 to $500.

Tesla shares fell 9.1% to $391.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• FedEx Corporation FDX reported downbeat earnings for its third quarter, while sales exceeded views. The company also suspended its FY20 guidance amid coronavirus uncertainty.
• Quidel Corporation QDEL disclosed that it received Emergency Use Authorization for molecular COVID-19 diagnostic assay.
• The United States and Canada are planning to close their mutual border for all "non-essential travel," CNN reported early Wednesday citing sources from the White House.
• Fox Corp FOX announced plans to purchase Tubi for $440 million in cash.