A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mostly Lower; Inflation Data In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly lower in early pre-market trade. The U.S. Senate approved a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill Tuesday that mandates several requirements for trucking previously approved by the U.S. House and will likely make it into a final bill. Investors are awaiting earnings results from eBay Inc EBAY Wendys Co WEN and Nio Inc - ADR NIO.

The Consumer Price Index for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Consumer prices have been surpassing expectations in the recent period, with analysts expecting annual inflation rate declining to 5.3% in July from 5.4% in the previous month. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 10:30 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George will speak at 12:00 p.m. ET. The U.S. Treasury budget statement for July is scheduled for release at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 7 points to 35,162.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 6.75 points to 4,423.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 60.25 points to 14,984.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 36,055,220 with around 618,130 deaths. India reported a total of at least 32,036,510 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 20,212,640 cases.

Oil prices traded slightly higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.2% to trade at $70.78 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.1% to trade at $68.37 a barrel. The American Petroleum Institute, late Tuesday, reported a decline of 816,000 barrels in crude oil inventories for the week ending August 6. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.4% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4% while German DAX 30 gained 0.1%. German consumer price inflation rate was confirmed at 3.8% year-over-year in July.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.65%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.04%, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.08%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3% and India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.1%. Auto sales in China fell 11.9% year-over-year to 1.86 million units in July. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment for Australia dropped to 104.1 in August.

Broker Recommendation

Goldman Sachs downgraded Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. DRNA from Buy to Neutral and lowered the price target from $36 to $25.

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals shares fell 2.8% to $21.56 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Coinbase Global Inc COIN reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter on Tuesday. However, the company projects a decline in volumes for the current quarter.
• Volkswagen AG VWAGY has joined Tesla Inc. TSLA in urging India to lower import duties on electric cars, Reuters reported.
• fuboTV Inc. FUBO reported stronger-than-expected sales for its second quarter. The company ended the second quarter with 681,271 subscribers, adding over 91,000 net new users in the second quarter. FuboTV said it expects Q3 revenue to come in a range of $140 million to $144 million, ahead of Street estimates of $126.9 million. The company sees subscribers hitting a range of 810,000 to 820,000 at the end of the third quarter.
• McAfee Corp. MCFE reported better-than-expected Q2 sales results and issued strong net sales guidance.