A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of GDP Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones jumped around 560 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from CarMax, Inc. KMX, Cintas Corporation CTAS and Paychex, Inc. PAYX.

Data on Gross Domestic Product for the third quarter, Chicago Fed National Activity Index for November and corporate profits for the third quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. US GDP is expected to grow 2.1% in the third quarter. Data on existing home sales and Conference Board’s consumer confidence index will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 32 points to 35,349.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 9 points to 4,631.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index dropped 54.75 points to 15,925.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 52,253,840 with around 830,990 deaths. India reported a total of at least 34,758,480 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 22,219,470 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.4% to trade at $74.25 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.5% to trade at $71.44 a barrel. The American Petroleum Institute, late Tuesday, said crude-oil inventories dropped 3.670 million barrels last week. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.4% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1%, London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% while German DAX 30 gained 0.1%. The British economy grew 1.1% on quarter during the three months to September. Business investment in the UK dropped 2.5% quarter-over-quarter during the July-September period, while current account deficit widened to GBP 24.4 billion in the third quarter. Spain's producer price inflation increased to an all-time high of 33.1% year-over-year in November

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.16%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.57% and China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.07%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1%, while India’s BSE Sensex climbed 1.1%. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Economic Index in Australia increased 0.12% year-over-year in November.

Broker Recommendation

Stifel upgraded Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI from Hold to Buy and announced a $165 price target.

Darden shares rose 1.5% to $145.10 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• BlackBerry Limited BB reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter on Monday.
• Novartis NVS announced plans to acquire all of the outstanding share capital of Gyroscope Therapeutics.
• AAR Corp. AIR reported weaker-than-expected results for its second quarter and announced a $150 million buyback program.
• U.S. listed Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc.’s NIO average selling price has risen 6% in the first eleven months of the year, cnEVpost reported, citing a regional research agency.

Check out other breaking news here