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.

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. (NYSE:GBX) from Overweight to Sector Weight.

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

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