US Stock Futures Down; All Eyes On Fed Chair Powell

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade ahead of Powell’s speech. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at 10 a.m. ET at the central bank’s Jackson Hole economic symposium. Investors are awaiting earnings results from JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. JKS.

Data on international trade in goods, wholesale inventories, personal income and outlays will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for August is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Check out this: Bitcoin, Ethereum Record Losses Ahead Of Powell's Speech; Here Are The Top Crypto Movers For Friday

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 86 points to 33,187.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 16.50 points to 4,184.50. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 75.25 points to 13,080.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.9% to trade at $99.32 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.9% to trade at $93.33 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 95,844,670 with around 1,068,110 deaths. India reported a total of at least 44,389,170 confirmed cases, while France confirmed over 34,428,730 cases.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.3%, London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.3%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.2%, while German DAX fell 0.3%.

Loans to households in the Eurozone increased 4.5% year-over-year in July. Italian consumer confidence climbed by 3.5 points to 98.3 in August from 94.8 a month ago, while manufacturing confidence declined by 2.1 points to 104.3 in August. The consumer confidence index in France rose to 82 in August from 80 in July, while GfK Consumer Climate Indicator for Germany declined to a fresh record low level of -36.5 heading into September.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.57%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.31%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 1.01%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8%, while India’s S&P BSE SENSEX slipped 0.1%.

Broker Recommendation

JP Morgan downgraded InterContinental Hotels Group PLC IHG from Overweight to Neutral.

InterContinental Hotels shares rose 0.9% to close at $59.96 on Thursday.

Check out this: Market Volatility Decreases Further As Investors Await Powell Speech

Breaking News

• Workday, Inc. WDAY reported upbeat earnings for its second quarter. The company maintained full-year subscription revenue guidance between $5.537 billion and $5.557 billion.
• India's anti-money laundering agency has accused a16z-backed crypto exchange CoinSwitch Kuber of violating forex laws, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
• Ulta Beauty, Inc. ULTA reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter and raised its FY22 guidance.
• Dell Technologies Inc. DELL reported upbeat earnings for its second quarter, while sales missed estimates.

Check out other breaking news here