A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Fed Speakers

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones surged over 500 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Carnival Corporation CCL and 51job, Inc. JOBS.

Data on new home sales for August will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George, Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman and Vice Chair Richard Clarida will speak at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic will speak at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 80 points to 34,564.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 15 points to 4,423.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 71 points to 15,232.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 42,672,290 with around 684,350 deaths. India reported a total of at least 33,594,800 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 21,308,170 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.3% to trade at $76.70 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.2% to trade at $73.43 a barrel. US natural-gas supplies climbed 76 billion cubic feet last week, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday. 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 lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index dropped 0.6%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.8%, London’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.2% while German DAX 30 declined 0.6%. The United Kingdom’s GfK consumer confidence index fell to -13 for the month of September from -8 a month ago. Manufacturing confidence in Italy dropped to 113 in September from a revised level of 113.2 in August, while consumer confidence climbed to 119.6 from 116.2. The Ifo business climate indicator for Germany fell to 98.8 in September versus a revised reading of 99.6 in August.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 2.06%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.3%, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.4%. Japan’s services PMI rose to 47.4 in September from a 15-month low level of 42.9 in the previous month, while manufacturing PMI dropped to 51.2 in September from a final 52.7. Japan's consumer prices fell 0.4% year-over-year in August, while food prices dropped 1.1% year-over-year in August.

Broker Recommendation

Jefferies upgraded The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated CAKE from Hold to Buy and raised the price target from $55 to $60.

Cheesecake Factory shares rose 1.2% to $47.65 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Nike Inc NKE reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, while sales missed expectations. The company also lowered its sales forecast for the full year.
• Progress Software Corp PRGS reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter and raised FY21 guidance. The company also announced acquisition of privately held Kemp for $258 million in cash.
• Costco Wholesale Corporation COST reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter. Its comparable sales, excluding fuel and currency impact, surged 9.4% last quarter.
• Alibaba Group Holding BABA is looking to shed its entire stake in a local television network as Beijing wants the Jack Ma-founded company to sell some of its media assets, Bloomberg News reported.

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