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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones closed higher by over 100 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Walmart Inc WMT, Home Depot Inc HD and Agilent Technologies Inc A.

Data on retail sales for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on industrial production for July will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET. Data on business inventories for June and the housing market index for August will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak at 1:30 p.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari will speak at 3:45 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 144 points to 35,390.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 18.25 points to 4,455.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 53.25 points to 15,080.75.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 36,888,970 with around 622,320 deaths. India reported a total of at least 32,250,670 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 20,378,570 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.4% to trade at $69.25 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 0.5% to trade at $66.96 a barrel. The API’s report on crude stocks will be released later during the day.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.8% and STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.2%. The French CAC 40 Index dropped 0.4%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.1% while German DAX 30 declined 0.4%. The UK unemployment rate dropped to 4.7% in the second quarter from 4.9% in the previous period. Labor productivity in the UK declined 0.5% on quarter in the second quarter. The Eurozone economy grew 2.0% on quarter during the second quarter after recording contraction for two consecutive periods.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.36%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.66%, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipped 2%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.9% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.1%.

Broker Recommendation

Morgan Stanley upgraded AppLovin Corporation APP from Underweight to Equal-Weight and lowered the price target from $68 to $60.

AppLovin shares fell 1% to close at $55.88 on Monday.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Fabrinet FN reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter and issued strong forecast for the current quarter.
• Tesla Inc. TSLA battery supplier LG Energy Solution said it has entered into a six-year deal with an Australian mining company for the stable supply of key battery materials - cobalt and nickel.
• Spirit Airlines Incorporated SAVE lowered its guidance for the third quarter. The company said it now expects sales of $885 million-$955 million, versus earlier forecast of $1 billion -$1.01 billion.
• General Motors Co GM is set to start replacing all electric vehicle battery modules in some Chevy Bolts within weeks, Electrek reported.

Check out other breaking news here