U.S. Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Earnings; Crude Oil Drops

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade on Friday after closing slightly higher in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Deere & Company DE, Foot Locker, Inc. FL and The Buckle, Inc. BKE.

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin is set to speak at 9:00 a.m. ET. Data on e-commerce retail sales and the Census Bureau quarterly services survey report for the second quarter will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 189 points to 33,792.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 31.25 points to 4,255.25. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 120.25 points to 13,403.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.4% to trade at $95.29 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.3% to trade at $95.29 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is scheduled for release at 1:00 p.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 95,186,070 with around 1,064,780 deaths. India reported a total of at least 44,314,610 confirmed cases, while France confirmed over 34,299,680 cases.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.4%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.9%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.6%, while German DAX fell 0.8%.

The Eurozone’s current account surplus shrank to EUR 3.2 billion in June from EUR 27.6 billion in the year-ago month. Annual producer inflation in Germany climbed to a fresh record high of 37.2% in July from 32.7% in the previous month. Retail sales in the UK increased 0.3% over the prior month in July beating market expectations for a 0.2% decline, while GfK consumer confidence indicator in the country dropped to -44 in August versus -41 in July.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.04%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.59%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.05%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.02%, while India’s S&P BSE SENSEX fell 1%.

The annual inflation rate in Japan accelerated to 2.6% in July from 2.4% a month ago, while food inflation in the country rose to a near 8-year high of 4.4%.

Broker Recommendation

Keybanc maintained Apple Inc. AAPL with an Overweight and raised the price target from $177 to $185.

Apple shares fell 0.8% to $172.71 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Applied Materials, Inc. AMAT reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter. The company also said it sees Q4 adjusted earnings of $1.82 to $2.18 per share on sales of $6.25 billion to $7.05 billion.
• Indonesian President Joko Widodo wants Tesla Inc TSLA to manufacture cars in the country and not just batteries, according to Bloomberg News.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc BBBY shares dropped sharply in Thursday's after-hours session after a new SEC filing confirmed that GameStop chair Ryan Cohen sold his stake in the home furnishings retailer.
• Bill.com Holdings Inc BILL reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results and issued revenue guidance above average analyst estimates.

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