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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones jumped more than 650 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Oracle Corporation ORCL, JD.com, Inc. JD and Ulta Beauty, Inc. ULTA.

Data on initial jobless claims and the Consumer Price Index for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The U.S. Treasury budget statement for February will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 126 points to 33,139.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 12.25 points to 4,263.00. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 58.50 points to 13,676.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 3.9% to trade at $115.48 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 2.8% to trade at $111.74 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.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 81,064,100 with around 989,470 deaths. India reported a total of at least 42,980,060 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 29,194,040 cases.

Check out this: Insiders Sell Around $136M Of 4 Stocks

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.5%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.4% and London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.5%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 1.1%, while German DAX dropped 1.1%. Industrial production in Italy fell 3.4% from a month ago in January, while Industrial producer prices surged 32.9% year-over-year in January. Payroll employment in the France’s private sector increased by 0.6% to 20.06 million in the fourth quarter.

Asian markets traded higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 3.94%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.27% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.22%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1%, while India’s BSE SENSEX rose 1.4%. Private house approvals in Australia dropped 17.5% to a nine month low of 8,712 units in January, while building permits fell 27.9% to 12,916 units. Producer prices in Japan climbed 9.3% year-over-year in February.

Broker Recommendation

Keybanc maintained Asana, Inc. ASAN with an Overweight and lowered the price target from $97 to $61.

Asana shares fell 24.4% to $36.90 in pre-market trading.

Check out this: Insiders Sell More Than $400M Of 5 Stocks

Breaking News

• Asana, Inc. ASAN reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. However, the company said it sees higher-than-expected loss for the first quarter.
• Major U.S.-based crypto exchange Kraken plans to distribute $10 million worth of Bitcoin BTC/USD to Ukraine-based clients impacted by the Russian invasion.
• Fossil Group, Inc. FOSL reported adjusted net income of $0.64 per share for the fourth quarter up from $0.19 per share in the year-ago period. Its net sales surged 14% to $604.2 million. Fossil said it sees FY22 global net sales growth of 2% to 6% year over year.
• Insignia Systems Inc ISIG reported fourth-quarter financial results. Insignia said fourth-quarter revenue declined 10.4% year-over-year to $4.5 million. The company reported a quarterly earnings loss of 56 cents per share, which was worse than the loss of 55 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2020.

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