A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Drop Following Tuesday's Gains

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade, after posting a rise in the earlier session. The FHFA house price index for April is scheduled for release at 9:00 a.m. ET, while the State Street Investor Confidence Index for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Chicago Federal Reserve chief Charles Evans is set to speak at 12:30 p.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard will speak at 2:00 p.m. ET.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 2,347,100 with around 121,220 deaths. Russia reported a total of at least 598,870 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 1,145,900 cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 293 points to 25,727 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 30.75 points to 3,087.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 58.25 points to 10,137.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.1% to trade at $42.25 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.5% to trade at $39.78 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 1.6% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 1.5%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 1.8%, while French CAC 40 Index fell 1.7% and German DAX 30 dropped 1.8%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.07%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.50%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.3% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.7%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at KeyBanc upgraded MAXIMUS, Inc. MMS from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced an $80 price target.

Maximus shares rose 2.6% to $69.98 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Dell Technologies Inc DELL is exploring options for its 81% stake in VMware, Inc. VMW, including creating a spinoff, the Wall Street Journal reported.
• THL Credit, Inc. TCRD announced plans to buyback $20 million of its common stock.
• La-Z-Boy Incorporated LZB reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed estimates.
• AeroVironment, Inc. AVAV reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Tuesday. The company said it expects FY21 adjusted EPS of $1.74 to $1.94 on sales of $390 million to $410 million.