A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Lower On Final Trading Day Of 2021

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade on the final trading day of 2021. The Dow Jones dropped around 90 points, snapping a six-session winning streak on Thursday.

US initial jobless claims dropped by 8,000 from the prior period to 198,000 in the week ending December 25. However, analysts were expecting a reading of 208,000.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 25 points to 36,266.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures declined 4 points to 4,768.25. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 13 points to 16,417.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 55,252,820 with around 845,740 deaths. India reported a total of at least 34,838,800 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 22,277,230 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.6% to trade at $79.09 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.6% to trade at $76.55 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were slightly lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index slipped 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.3%, while London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.4%.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.2% and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.6%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.9%, while India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.9%. The official NBS Manufacturing PMI for China increased to 50.3 in December from 50.1 in the earlier month, while non-manufacturing PMI edged higher to 52.7 from 52.3.

Broker Recommendation

JMP Securities downgraded Peloton Interactive PTON from Market Outperform to Market Perform.

Peloton Interactive shares fell 1.6% to $36.58 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Lexicon Pharmaceuticals LXRX said it submitted a New Drug Application to the FDA for sotagliflozin for the treatment of heart failure in adults with type 2 diabetes.
• The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) on Thursday called out the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for what it suggested was the singling out of the cruise industry with a new travel advisory over COVID-19 fears due to the fast-spreading omicron coronavirus variant.
• Xeris Biopharma Holdings, Inc. XERS reported the FDA approval of Recorlev for the treatment of endogenous hypercortisolemia in adult patients with Cushing's syndrome.
• Medalist Diversified REIT, Inc. MDRR reported a stock repurchase program of 500,000 shares.

Check out other breaking news here