A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mostly Lower Ahead Of Jobless Claims Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly lower in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones surpassed the 33,000 level in the previous session following comments from Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell. Investors are awaiting earnings reports from Dollar General Corp. DG, FedEx Corporation FDX, Nike Inc NKE and Accenture Plc ACN.

Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Jobless claims are projected to decline to 700,000 for the March 13 week from 712,000 in the prior week. The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index for March is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the index of leading economic indicators for February will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 27 points to 33,044.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 16.50 points at 3,957.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 149.25 points to 13,052.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 29,607,480 with around 538,080 deaths. Brazil confirmed over 11,693,530 cases, while India reported a total of at least 11,474,600 confirmed cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1% to trade at $67.30 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.1% to trade at $67.30 a barrel. US crude oil inventories increased 2.396 million barrels for the week ended March 12, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is scheduled for release at 10:30 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.2% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1%, German DAX 30 gained 0.7% while London's FTSE 100 fell 0.2%.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.01%, China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.51% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.28%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.7%, while India’s BSE Sensex fell 1.6%. Australia's unemployment rate dropped to 5.8% in February from 6.4% a month ago.

Broker Recommendation

Raymond James maintained Lennar Corporation LEN with an Outperform and raised the price target from $90 to $105..

Lennar shares rose 0.5% to $101.40 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Williams-Sonoma, Inc. WSM reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter and raised its quarterly dividend. The company also announced a $1 billion buyback program.
• Five Below Inc FIVE reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter and issued strong guidance for the first quarter.
• Adidas AG ADDYY has formed a partnership with fitness company Peloton Interactive Inc. PTON to create an exclusive apparel line.
• Pagerduty Inc PD reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter, but issued downbeat earnings forecast for Q1 and FY21.

Check out other breaking news here