A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Drop Ahead Of New-Home Sales Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. South Korea reported 169 new coronavirus cases, while China reported 406 new cases. More than 80,000 persons worldwide have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Data on new home sales for January and the State Street Investor Confidence Index for February will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan is set to speak at 9:35 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 92 points to 27,025 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 5.6 points to 3,127.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 15.5 points to 8,838.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.3% to trade at $53.58 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1% to trade at $49.43 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 1.3%, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 1.8% and German DAX 30 index declining 2.1%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.8%, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 1.6%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.79%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.73%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.83% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.97%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at HSBC downgraded Nike Inc NKE from Buy to Hold and announced a $112 price target.

Nike shares fell 1.2% to $91.80 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Lowe's Companies, Inc. LOW reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed views. The company also issued weak earnings outlook for FY20.
• Endo International PLC ENDP reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.
• United Therapeutics Corporation UTHR reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.
• salesforce.com, inc. CRM reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter and announced its CEO would step down. The company also said it will acquire cloud and mobile software provider Vlocity for about $1.33 billion.