A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mostly Lower Following Plunge In Tech Shares

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly lower in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq index dipped around 2.5% in the previous session. The Federal Reserve maintained its target fed funds rate range of between zero and 0.25% but said it will be accelerating its monthly asset purchase tapering. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI and Winnebago Industries, Inc. WGO.

San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly is set to speak at 1:00 p.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 22 points to 35,924.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 8 points to 4,660.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index dipped 102 points to 15,768.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 51,435,650 with around 824,520 deaths. India reported a total of at least 34,726,040 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 22,204,940 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.6% to trade at $73.80 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.6% to trade at $71.19 a barrel. US natural-gas supplies dropped 88 billion cubic feet last week, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is scheduled for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.6% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 0.6%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.5%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3% while German DAX 30 declined 0.6%. The annual inflation rate in the Eurozone accelerated to 4.9% in November from 4.1% in the previous month, while construction output increased 4.4% year-over-year in October. Spain's trade deficit widened to EUR 3.4 billion in October from EUR 0.7 billion in the year-ago month. The Ifo Business Climate indicator for Germany dropped to 94.7 in December, while German producer prices surged 19.2% year-over-year in November, following an 18.4% growth in the prior month. Retail sales in the UK increased 1.4% in November. Passenger car registrations in the European Union dipped 20.5% year-over-year to 713,346 units in November.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.79%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.20% and China’s Shanghai Composite declined 1.16%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1%, while India’s BSE Sensex fell 1.5%. The Bank of Japan maintained its key short-term interest rate at -0.1% at its recent meeting.

Broker Recommendation

BMO Capital upgraded T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. TROW from Market Perform to Outperform and lowered the price target from $253 to $246..

T. Rowe Price shares rose 1.2% to $192.99 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• FedEx Corporation FDX reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter and boosted its FY22 earnings guidance. The company also reported a $5 billion buyback, including $1.5 billion accelerated buyback program.
• Meta Platforms Inc FB, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is under investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The regulator has initiated an in-depth probe of the Mark Zuckerberg-led com
• Steelcase Inc. SCS reported downbeat results for its third quarter and issued weak sales forecast for the current quarter.
• United States Steel Corporation X said it projects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of around $1.65 billion for the fourth quarter, versus analysts’ estimates of $2.13 billion amid a slowdown in orders.

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