A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Tumble Ahead Of Earnings Reports; Crude Oil Down

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones tumbled around 300 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from AutoNation, Inc. AN, Tractor Supply Company TSCO, IBM IBM and PPG Industries, Inc. PPG.

The NAHB housing market index for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The housing market index is projected to increase to 82 in July from 81 in June.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 331 points to 34,233.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 29.50 points to 4,289.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 45 points to 14,625.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 34,079,960 with around 609,010 deaths. India reported a total of at least 31,144,220 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 19,376,570 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 2.8% to trade at $71.56 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 3% to trade at $69.70 a barrel. OPEC and its allies reached a deal on Sunday to raise oil production in response to rising prices, and phase out 5.8 million barrels per day of oil production cuts by the end of 2022, Bloomberg reported. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs rose by 2 to 380 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.9% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 1.6%. The French CAC 40 Index dipped 1.8%, London’s FTSE 100 dropped 1.7% while German DAX 30 declined 1.6%. Construction output in the Eurozone surged 13.6% year-over-year in May compared to a record 45.2% growth in the earlier month.

Asian markets traded lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.25%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped 1.84% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.01%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.85% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 1.2%.

Broker Recommendation

Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Confluent, Inc. CFLT with an Overweight rating and announced a price target of $50.

Confluent shares fell 0.2% to close at $40.40 on Friday.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Zoom Video Communications Inc ZM announced plans to buy Five9 Inc FIVN in a $14.7 billion all-stock deal that will help it boost its presence beyond video chat.
• Ford Motor Co F added another variant of its all-electric sports utility vehicle Mustang Mach-E in China for under RMB 300,000 ($46,000), thus qualifying it for state-led subsidies.
• Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. FCPT reported the acquisition of an Outback Steakhouse property for $1.9 million.
• A subsidiary of Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc. NIO has acquired a small stake in a unit of Shanghai-listed AI chip company Cambricon, cnEVpost reported.

Check out other breaking news here