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 (NYSE: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 (NYSE:ORCL) and Chewy Inc (NYSE: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 (NYSE: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 (NYSE: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. (NYSE:GME) reported a wider-than-expected loss for its second quarter, while sales also missed estimates.
• Spero Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SPRO) reported an 8 million share common stock offering.