US Stock Futures Mostly Lower Ahead Of Fed Speakers; Crude Oil Drops Over 2%

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly lower in early pre-market trade after recording losses for a third straight session on Tuesday. The Dow Jones tumbled more than 300 points, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped over 1.1% in the previous session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Donaldson Company, Inc. DCI, Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE: BF-B) and Designer Brands Inc. DBI.

Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester is set to speak at 8:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Lorie Logan will speak at 6:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 6:30 p.m. ET. The ADP national employment report for August will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET, while the Chicago PMI for August is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m.

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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 70 points to 31,705.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 6.50 points to 3,981.00. Futures for the Nasdaq index rose 6 points to 12,364.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 2.5% to trade at $95.41 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 2.6% to trade at $89.29 a barrel. Stocks of crude oil in the US increased by 0.593 million barrels in the week ended August 26th, the API said Tuesday. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. 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 96,149,010 with around 1,069,740 deaths. India reported a total of at least 44,429,250 confirmed cases, while France confirmed over 34,509,960 cases.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.7%, London’s FTSE 100 dipped 1.1% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 1.1%. The French CAC 40 Index declined 1%, while German DAX fell 0.8%.

Annual inflation rate in the Eurozone increased to 9.1% in August from 8.9% in the previous month, while annual inflation rate in Italy accelerated to 8.4% from 7.9%. The French economy grew 0.5% on quarter in the second quarter compared to a 0.2% drop in the previous quarter, while annual inflation rate in the country fell to 5.8% in August from 6.1% in the earlier month. Import prices in Germany rose by 28.9% year-over-year in July.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.37%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.78%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.03%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2%.

Retail sales in Japan rose by 2.4% year-over-year in July, while industrial production increased by 1.0% month-over-month during July. The consumer confidence index in Japan rose to a three-month high level of 30.2 for August up from 30.2 in July, while housing starts dropped by 5.4% year-over-year in July. The official NBS Manufacturing PMI for China climbed to 49.4 in August from 49.0 a month ago, while non-manufacturing PMI fell to a three-month low of 52.6.

Broker Recommendation

Keybanc maintained Ambarella, Inc. AMBA with an Overweight and lowered the price target from $120 to $100.

Ambarella shares fell 8.3% to $77.49 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• HP Inc. HPQ reported weaker-than-expected sales results for its third quarter and lowered its full-year earnings guidance.
• Tesla Inc TSLA has reduced the wait time for its rear-wheel drive Model Ys in China to one to four months, reported Reuters, citing the automaker's China website.
• PVH Corp. PVH reported a decline in Q2 earnings, announced job cuts and issued weak outlook. The company said it now sees revenue dropping this year, versus a prior forecast projection for a gain. PVH also announced the resignation of Trish Donnelly, CEO of PVH Americas & Calvin Klein Global.
• Apple Inc AAPL Chief Privacy Officer Jane Horvath is reportedly leaving her post to take up employment at a law firm.

Check out other breaking news here