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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade, following a strong rebound in the previous session. AstraZeneca Plc AZN CEO Pascal Soriot said during a conference call with investors Wednesday that the person experiencing symptoms related to a rare neurological disorder caused its global COVID-19 vaccine trials to pause. Investors are awaiting earnings from Oracle Corporation ORCL and Chewy Inc CHWY. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and the Producer Price Index for August will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on wholesale inventories for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 88 points to 27,884 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 11 points to 3,389.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 33.25 points to 11,359.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 6,362,100 with around 190,860 deaths. India reported a total of at least 4,465,860 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 4,197,880 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.1% to trade at $40.36 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.3% to trade at $37.55 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, while the EIA’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.3% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.2%. The French CAC 40 Index declined 0.3%, while German DAX 30 fell 0.1% and London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.5%. Investors in Europe are awaiting the ECB’s monetary policy decision today for clues regarding further stimulus.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.88%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.64% China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.61% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1%. Japan’s machinery orders declined at a lower-than-expected rate, falling 16.2% in July, versus analysts’ estimates for an 18.3% drop.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at KeyBanc upgraded Fortune Brands Home & Security Inc FBHS from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced a $95 price target.

Fortune Brands Home shares rose 0.3% to $82.76 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• RH RH reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter. The company also said it expects to reach 20% adjusted operating margin in FY20.
• China’s ByteDance Ltd, the parent company of TikTok, is in talks with the US government with the aim of retaining part ownership of the short-form video app, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
• GameStop Corp. GME reported a wider-than-expected loss for its second quarter, while sales also missed estimates.
• Spero Therapeutics Inc SPRO reported an 8 million share common stock offering.