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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade as investors are awaiting earnings from Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA, Morgan Stanley MS, and Charles Schwab Corporation SCHW. Wall Street recorded losses in the earlier session as talks for another Covid-19 stimulus remain stalled. The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved $12 billion in financing for developing countries to purchase and distribute COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments.

Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week, the Philadelphia's Fed manufacturing index for October, the Empire State manufacturing index for October, import and export prices for September will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Analysts expect initial claims declining to 825,000 in the October 10 week from 840,000 in the previous week. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 9:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan will speak at 11:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles is set to speak at 11:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard is set to speak at 11:10 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin will speak at 2:00 p.m. ET. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari will speak at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 294 points to 28,120 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 40.50 points to 3,440.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 212.50 points to 11,761.75.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 7,916,530 with around 216,900 deaths. India reported a total of at least 7,307,090 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 5,140,860 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.2% to trade at $42.81 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.3% to trade at $40.52 a barrel. The American Petroleum Institute reported a decline of 5.4 million barrels in US crude supplies for the week ended October 9. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET, while the EIA’s report on petroleum inventories will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today with prospects of a stimulus fading before the US election in November. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.8% and STOXX Europe 600 Index dipped 2.1%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 2.1%, while German DAX 30 declined 2.7% and London’s FTSE 100 fell 2.1%. French Consumer Price Index dropped 0.5% month-over-month in September.

Asian markets traded lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.51%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.26%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 2.06% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 2.2%. Chinese Producer Price Index declined 2.1% in September, versus market expectations for a 1.8% decline. The country’s annual inflation rate fell to 1.7% in September from 2.4% in the earlier month.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded Williams Companies Inc WMB from Buy to Neutral and announced a $21 price target.

Williams Companies shares fell 1.5% to $19.39 in pre-market trading.

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