A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mostly Flat; All Eyes On Jobs Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade ahead of nonfarm payrolls data. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Lear Corporation LEA Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co GT, Fluor Corporation FLR and Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. SPB.

US jobs report for July is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Analysts expect nonfarm payrolls rising 900,000 in July following a better-than-expected rise of 850,000 in the previous month. The unemployment rate is expected to decline to 5.7% from 5.9%. Data on wholesale inventories for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET, while data on consumer credit for June will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 5 points to 34,948.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 0.75 points to 4,422.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 13 points to 15,154.75.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 35,440,480 with around 615,320 deaths. India reported a total of at least 31,856,750 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 20,066,580 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.5% to trade at $71.61 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.4% to trade at $69.37 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is scheduled for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.4% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 0.2%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2% while German DAX 30 gained 0.1%. Payroll employment in the French private sector increased 1.2% to 19.75 million in the second quarter, while current account deficit shrank to EUR 0.5 billion in June. Germany's industrial production dropped 1.3% in June, while house prices in the UK rose 7.6% year-over-year in July. Spain's industrial production growth dropped to 11.1% year-over-year in June versus a revised 25.0% growth in the prior month.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.33%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.10%, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.24%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.3%. The index of leading economic indicators in Japan climbed to 104.1 in June from a final reading of 102.6 in the earlier month, while the index of coincident economic indicators surged to 94.2 from May’s reading of 92.1. Japan’s household spending fell by 5.1% year-over-year in June, while average cash earnings slipped by 0.1% annually in June. The Reserve Bank of India held its benchmark repo rate at 4% at its August meeting.

Broker Recommendation

Piper Sandler downgraded Moderna, Inc. MRNA from Overweight to Neutral and raised the price target from $246 to $445.

Moderna shares fell 1.8% to $408.66 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Dropbox Inc DBX posted stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter on Thursday.
• Yelp Inc YELP reported a surprise profit for its second quarter, while sales exceeded estimates. The company also raised its FY21 sales guidance.
• Apple Inc AAPL supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd HNHAF, also known as Foxconn, said Thursday that it was buying a semiconductors plant from Macronix International in a deal worth $91 billion..
• Novavax, Inc. NVAX reported that it will delay its submission for an emergency use authorization with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to the fourth quarter of 2021. The company also reported a wider-than-expected loss for its second quarter.

Check out other breaking news here