A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down; All Eyes On Fed's Powell

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade, ahead of the much-awaited speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to the Jackson Hole central bankers conference. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq surged to another all-time highs in the previous session.

Investors are awaiting earnings from Dollar General Corp. DG, HP Inc HPQ, Dell Technologies Inc. DELL and Dollar Tree, Inc. DLTR. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and Gross Domestic Product for the second quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George is set to speak at 9:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin will speak at 12:30 p.m. ET. The pending home sales index for July is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET, while the Kansas City Fed's manufacturing index for August will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 97 points to 28,215 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded slipped 8 points to 3,472.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 20.25 points to 11,972.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 5,822,920 with around 179,730 deaths. Brazil confirmed over 3,717,150 cases, while India reported a total of at least 3,310,230 confirmed cases.

Oil prices traded mixed as Brent crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $46.19 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.2% to trade at $43.31 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.6% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.3%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.3%, while French CAC 40 Index declined 0.4% and German DAX 30 fell 0.1%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.35%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.83% China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.61% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.3%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at KeyBanc downgraded The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. GBX from Overweight to Sector Weight.

NIO shares rose 2% to close at $27.65 on Wednesday.

Breaking News

• Abbott Laboratories ABT disclosed that the United States FDA has granted emergency use authorization to its 15-minute COVID-19 test. The BinaxNOW COVID-19 test has been priced at $5.
• NetApp Inc. NTAP reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter on Wednesday.
• Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng Inc. has significantly increased the target for its United Statesinitial public offering, Reuters reported Wednesday.
• Box Inc BOX reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter and issued strong guidance for Q3 and FY21.