A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Empire State Index

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after closing slightly higher in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Fabrinet DXPE, Roblox Corp RBLX and Tencent Music Entertainment Group TME. The President of Afghanistan fled his country as reports indicate Taliban fighters are seizing security checkpoints inside the capital city of Kabul.

The Empire State manufacturing index for August is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Empire State index jumped sharply to 43.0 in July from 17.4 in the previous month. However, analysts expect August's reading to drop to 30.0.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 59 points to 35,361.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 7.75 points to 4,454.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 17.75 points to 15,108.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 36,678,860 with around 621,630 deaths. India reported a total of at least 32,225,510 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 20,364,090 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.4% to trade at $70.31 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 0.6% to trade at $68.06 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs rose by 10 to 397 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported Friday.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.6% and STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.5%. The French CAC 40 Index dropped 0.7%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.8% while German DAX 30 declined 0.5%. The consumer price inflation rate in France was confirmed at 1.2% year-over-year in July, while unemployment rate slipped to 8.0% in the second quarter from 8.1% in the prior period. Wholesale prices in Germany surged 11.3% year-over-year in July.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.62%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.80%, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.03%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.6% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.3%. India’s wholesale price inflation rate fell to 11.16% year-over-year in July compared to 12.07% in the prior month. Industrial production in Japan climbed 6.5% in June, while the country’s economy advanced 1.3% on an annualized basis in the second quarter. Chinese retail trade surged 8.5% year-over-year, while industrial production rose 6.4% year-over-year in July. Average new home prices in China climbed 4.6% year-over-year for July following a 4.7% growth a month earlier ago.

Broker Recommendation

Raymond James downgraded Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG from Strong Buy to Outperform and raised the price target from $1800 to $2025..

Chipotle shares fell 0.6% to $1,877.50 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Hyatt Hotels Corporation H announced plans to buy Apple Leisure Group from KKR & Co and KSL Capital Partners for $2.7 billion in cash.
• BHP Group Ltd BHP is considering the sale of its petroleum business as part of a strategic review.
• Communications Systems, Inc JCS reported a Q2 loss of $0.20 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $0.21 per share. Its consolidated sales from continuing operations rose 14% to $11.0 million.
• T-Mobile US Inc. TMUS is investigating an online forum post that claims the personal data of over 100 million users have been compromised, Vice reported.

Check out other breaking news here