A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down, Jobless Claims Data In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Data on Gross Domestic Product for the fourth quarter, international trade in goods for February, initial jobless claims for the recent week and wholesale inventories for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for March is scheduled for release at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Total coronavirus cases in the US exceeded 69,100 with around 1,040 deaths. Spain confirmed a total of over 49,500 cases, while Italy reported a total of at least 74,300 confirmed cases and 7,500 deaths. China reported 67 new imported cases on Thursday.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 248 points to 20,778 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 40.25 points to 2,426.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 111.75 points to 7,356.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 2.3% to trade at $29.31 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 2.5% to trade at $23.88 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 2%, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 1.6% and German DAX 30 index dropping 2.1%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 2.4%, while French CAC 40 Index fell 2%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei fell 4.51%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.74%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.6% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 4.22%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded Beyond Meat, Inc. BYND from Neutral to Sell and lowered the price target from $129 to $39.

Beyond Meat shares fell 6% to $68.60 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Micron Technology, Inc. MU reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter on Wednesday.
• Tesla Inc. TSLA announced plans to reopen its gigafactory in New York to produce ventilators for coronavirus patients.
• Groupon Inc GRPN reported that Rich Williams and Steve Krenzer had left their positions as CEO and COO, respectively, but will remain the company employees. The company’s North America President, Aaron Cooper, will act as the interim chief executive.
• AstraZeneca PLC AZN disclosed that Lokelma has been approved in Japan for the treatment of hyperkalaemia.