A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mostly Lower Ahead Of Initial Jobless Claims Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly lower in early pre-market trade, after posting gains in the previous session. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while wholesale inventories report for May will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 12:00 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 3,055,100 with around 132,300 deaths. Brazil confirmed over 1,713,160 cases, while India reported a total of at least 767,290 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 85 points to 25,884 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 7.25 points to 3,156.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 16 points to 10,678.25.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.2% to trade at $43.20 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.4% to trade at $40.75 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 higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.3% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.5%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.1%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.4% and German DAX 30 gained 1.3%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.4%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.31%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.39% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey upgraded Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. REGN from Hold to Buy and raised the price target from $400 to $750.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals shares fell 0.1% to close at $640.34 on Wednesday.