Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade on the final trading day of 2021. The Dow Jones dropped around 90 points, snapping a six-session winning streak on Thursday.

US initial jobless claims dropped by 8,000 from the prior period to 198,000 in the week ending December 25. However, analysts were expecting a reading of 208,000.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 25 points to 36,266.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures declined 4 points to 4,768.25. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 13 points to 16,417.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 55,252,820 with around 845,740 deaths. India reported a total of at least 34,838,800 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 22,277,230 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.6% to trade at $79.09 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.6% to trade at $76.55 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were slightly lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index slipped 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.3%, while London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.4%.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.2% and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.6%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.9%, while India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.9%. The official NBS Manufacturing PMI for China increased to 50.3 in December from 50.1 in the earlier month, while non-manufacturing PMI edged higher to 52.7 from 52.3.

Broker Recommendation

JMP Securities downgraded Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ:PTON) from Market Outperform to Market Perform.

Peloton Interactive shares fell 1.6% to $36.58 in pre-market trading.

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