A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mixed Ahead Of Earnings, Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mixed in early pre-market trade ahead of several economic reports scheduled for release today. Investors are also awaiting earnings results from Morgan Stanley MS and Alcoa Corporation AA.

Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Jobless claims are expected to decline to 368,000 for the July 10 week from 373,000 in the previous week. The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index, the Empire State manufacturing index, import and export prices for June will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on industrial production for June will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will testify before the Senate Banking Committee at 9:30 a.m. ET, while Chicago Fed President Charles Evans will speak at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 115 points to 34,701.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 5 points to 4,362.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 53.25 points to 14,945.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 33,946,340 with around 608,100 deaths. India reported a total of at least 30,946,070 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 19,209,720 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.8% to trade at $74.16 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1% to trade at $72.41 a barrel. US crude oil inventories fell 7.897 million barrels in the July 9th week, the EIA said. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index slipped 0.5%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.5%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.1% while German DAX 30 dropped 0.8%. Consumer prices in Italy increased 1.3% year-over-year in June. The unemployment rate in the UK rose to 4.8% in the three months to May.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.15%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.75% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.02%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.5%. China's retail trade climbed 12.1% year-over-year in June following a 12.4% surge a month ago. The Chinese economy expanded 7.9% annually in the second quarter following a record 18.3% growth in the previous quarter. Industrial production in China jumped 8.3% year-over-year in June, while average new home prices increased by 4.7% year-over-year in June. Australia's unemployment rate fell to 4.9% in June from 5.1% in May.

Broker Recommendation

Jefferies upgraded The Macerich Company MAC from Underperform to Hold.

Macerich shares fell 0.1% to $17.51 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• United Community Banks, Inc. UCBI announced plans to acquire Reliant Bancorp, Inc. RBNC in an all-stock transaction valued at $517 million.
• Cinedigm Corp CIDM reported strong preliminary revenue results for the fourth quarter. The company sees preliminary revenue of $8.3 million for the quarter, versus analysts’ estimates of $7.71 million.
• Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. TARO reported the resignation of its CFO, Daphne Huang, effective August 6, 2021.
• Blue Ridge Bankshares, Inc. BRBS and FVCBankcorp, Inc. FVCB announced plans to combine in an all-stock merger of equals.

Check out other breaking news here