US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Fed's Rate Decision This Week, Crude Oil Drops Over 1%

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade on Monday after recording losses on Friday. All the three major indices recorded losses last week, with the Dow Jones dropping 4.1% and the S&P 500 down 4.8%.

The US Federal Reserve will announce its policy decision on Wednesday, with markets expecting an interest rate increase of at least 75 basis points.

The housing market index for September is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. The housing market index is expected to decline slightly to 48 in September from 49 in August.

Investors are also awaiting earnings results from Autozone Inc AZO today.

Check out this: US Stocks Fall to Two-Month Low Amid Higher Volatility

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 224 points to 30,698.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 30.50 points to 3,859.50. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 107 points to 11,826.50.

Commodities

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.2% to trade at $90.29 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.4% to trade at $83.91 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs climbed by 8 to 599 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported.

Gold futures fell 0.6% to trade at $1,672.70 an ounce, while silver traded down 0.1% at $19.37 an ounce on Monday.

A Peek Into Global Markets

Europe Markets

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.6%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index dropped 0.3%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 1.1%, while German DAX dropped 0.5%.

Construction output in the Eurozone increased 1.5% year-over-year in July compared to a revised 1.3% rise a month ago.

Asia-Pacific Markets

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.04% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.35%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3%, while India’s S&P BSE SENSEX gained 0.6%.

Foreign direct investment into China increased 16.4% year-over-year to CNY 892.74 billion during the first eight months of the year, while People's Bank of China reduced the borrowing cost of 14-day reverse repos from 2.25% to 2.15%. Hong Kong’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.1% in the three months ending August, compared to 4.3% in the prior three-month period.

Broker Recommendation

Keybanc upgraded D.R. Horton, Inc. DHI from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced an $84 price target.

D.R. Horton shares rose 0.2% to $71.27 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• bluebird bio, Inc. BLUE disclosed that the Food and Drug Administration approved its gene therapy for a rare neurodegenerative disease.
• Elon Musk-led SpaceX finally launched its Falcon 9 reusable rocket with 54 Starlink satellites, following several weather-induced cancellations last week.
• National Bank Holdings Corporation NBHC reported regulatory approvals for the acquisition of Bancshares of Jackson Hole Incorporated, the holding company for Bank of Jackson Hole.
• Bristol Myers Squibb BMY said it received the European Commission approval for the fixed-dose combination of Opdualag for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic melanoma with tumor cell PD-L1 expression < 1%.

Check out other breaking news here