Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded sharply lower in early pre-market trade after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced that the country’s armed forces would carry out a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA), Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) and Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL).

Data on initial jobless claims, Gross Domestic Product and Chicago Fed National Activity Index will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on new home sales for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for February is scheduled for release at 11:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin is set to speak at 9:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic will speak at 11:10 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester and Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin will speak at 12:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller will speak at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 604 points to 32,462.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 78.75 points to 4,143.25. Futures for the Nasdaq index tumbled 342.50 points to 13,165.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures jumped 6.5% to trade at $100.19 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures climbed 6.6% to trade at $98.14 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.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 80,372,400 with around 966,530 deaths. India reported a total of at least 42,881,170 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 28,485,500 cases.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 2.9%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 3.2% and London’s FTSE 100 dipped 2.5%. The French CAC 40 Index tumbled 3.3%, while German DAX declined 3.3%. The consumer confidence index in France declined by 1 point to 98 in February.

Asian markets traded lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 1.8%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 3.2% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.7%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 3%, while India’s BSE SENSEX dipped 4.7%. Total new capital expenditure in Australia increased 1.1% quarter-on-quarter during the three months to December.

Broker Recommendation

Berenberg downgraded The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) from Buy to Hold.

Mosaic shares rose 1% to $45.65 in pre-market trading.

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