A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Powell Testimony

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq tumbled more than 300 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings reports from Medtronic PLC MDT, Macy's, Inc. M and Intuit Inc. INTU.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to testify before Congress at 10:00 a.m. ET.
The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index and the FHFA House Price Index for December will be released at 190:00 a.m. ET. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index and the Richmond Fed manufacturing index for February will be released at 10:00 a.m.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 11 points to 31,455.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 9.75 points to 3,863.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 98.50 points to 13,125.75.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 28,190,400 with around 500,310 deaths. India reported a total of at least 11,016,430 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 10,195,160 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.1% to trade at $65.09 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1% to trade at $62.31 a barrel. The API’s report on crude oil stocks will be released later during the day.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.8% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 0.7%. The French CAC 40 Index declined 0.1%, German DAX 30 fell 0.9% while London's FTSE 100 fell 0.1%. UK’s labor productivity declined 4.5% on quarter in the fourth quarter, while unemployment rate rose to 5.1% in the three months to December.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.46%, China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 0.17% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.03%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9%, while India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.2%. Average new home prices in China climbed 3.9% year-on-year for January.

Broker Recommendation

Atlantic Equities upgraded Advance Auto Parts, Inc. AAP from Underweight to Neutral and announced a $175 price target..

Advance Auto Parts shares rose 1% to close at $167.70 on Monday.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Home Depot Inc HD reported better-than-results for its fourth quarter.
• Palo Alto Networks Inc PANW reported upbeat results for its second quarter and raised FY21 guidance.
• AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc AMC shares climbed in pre-market trading after New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that movie theaters in New York City are now permitted to re-open. AMC said in a statement it will reopen all 13 of its theaters in New York City beginning March 5.
• Moderna Inc. MRNA said that following positive feedback from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it is pursuing a plan to increase the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses to up to 15 in each vial from the present 10 doses.

Check out other breaking news here