A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mixed Ahead Of Jobless Claims, Producer Price Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mixed in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones jumped more than 200 points in the previous session following the release of consumer inflation data. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Walt Disney Co DIS Airbnb Inc ABNB and Baidu, Inc. BIDU.

Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Analysts expect jobless claims declining to 378,000 for the August 7 week from 385,000 in the prior week. The Producer Price Index for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 27 points to 35,399.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 0.25 point to 4,440.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 26 points to 14,993.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 36,190,340 with around 618,470 deaths. India reported a total of at least 32,077,700 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 20,245,080 cases.

Oil prices traded mostly flat as Brent crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $71.50 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures slipped 0.1% to trade at $69.20 a barrel. US crude oil inventories dropped 0.447 million barrels in the August 6th week, versus a 3.626 million rise in the prior period, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. The EIA’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index slipped 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3% while German DAX 30 gained 0.1%. Britain's gross domestic product increased 22.2% year-over-year in the second quarter, while industrial production dropped 0.7% in June. Imports to the UK rose 3.2% to a six-month high of GBP 51.26 billion, while exports declined 1.5% to GBP 48.74 billion in June.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.20%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.53%, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.22%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.1% and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.5%. Producer prices in Japan increased by 5.6% annually in July.

Broker Recommendation

Credit Suisse downgraded GoHealth, Inc. GOCO from Outperform to Neutral and lowered the price target from $18 to $10.

GoHealth shares fell 8.1% to $7.54 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Nio Inc – ADR NIO reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter and guided to strong deliveries and revenues for the current quarter. The company also said it's on track to launch three new vehicles in 2022.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize on Thursday a third dose of the Pfizer Inc. PFE- BioNTech SE BNTX and Moderna Inc. MRNA COVID-19 vaccines for certain people with weakened immune systems, the New York Times reported.
• Desktop Metal, Inc. DM announced plans to buy ExOne Co XONE for a total consideration of $25.50 per share.
• eBay Inc. EBAY reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter, but issued weak sales forecast for the current quarter.

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