A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Flat; Initial Jobless Claims Report In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade, after closing lower in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from NetEase Inc NTES, Applied Materials, Inc. AMAT and Baidu Inc ADR BIDU. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week, and import and export prices for July will be released at 8:30 a.m.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 5,197,370 with around 166,020 deaths. Brazil confirmed over 3,164,780 cases, while India reported a total of at least 2,396,630 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4 points to 27,870 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 1.75 points to 3,368.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 4.50 points to 11,121.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.2% to trade at $45.34 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.2% to trade at $42.59 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 0.1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.3%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.9%, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.1% and German DAX 30 fell 0.1%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.78%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.1% China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.04% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.2%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded Keysight Technologies Inc KEYS from Neutral to Buy and announced a $120 price target.

Keysight shares rose 1.4% to $101.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Cisco Systems, Inc. CSCO reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter, but issued a weak forecast for the current quarter.
• AstraZeneca plc’s AZN COVID-19 vaccine will be produced by Mexico and Argentina for Latin American countries except for Brazil, according to government officials of the two countries, AlJazeera reported Wednesday..
• LYFT Inc LYFT reported stronger-than-expected revenue for its second quarter, while active riders plunged 60% during the quarter.
• Aspen Technology AZPN reported better-than-expected Q4 results and also issued guidance for FY20.