A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Goldman Sachs Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones tumbled 200 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. JBHT and The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. PNC.

The Empire State manufacturing index for January is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the housing market index for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 250 points to 35,546.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 51.50 points to 4,603.25. Futures for the Nasdaq index tumbled 274.50 points to 15,321.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 67,631,190 with around 874,320 deaths. India reported a total of at least 37,618,270 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 23,083,290 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.3% to trade at $87.57 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 1.7% to trade at $85.25 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs rose by 11 to 492 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported Friday.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 1.1%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.6% and London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.7%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.9%, while German DAX dropped 1%. The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for the Eurozone increased by 22.6 points to a reading of 49.4 in January, while German ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment climbed 22.6 points to 51.7 in January. Italy’s trade surplus shrank to EUR 4.163 billion in November from EUR 6.864 billion in the year-ago month. The UK unemployment rate dropped to 4.1% in the three months to November, recording the lowest level since the three months to June 2020, while number of employed people rose by 60,000 on quarter to 32.475 million during the three months to November.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.27%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.43%, while China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.80%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.9%. Hong Kong’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.9% in the fourth quarter from 4.1% in the three months ending November. Industrial production in Japan surged 7.0% in November, while the Bank of Japan maintained its key short-term interest rate at -0.1%.

Broker Recommendation

BMO Capital upgraded Under Armour, Inc. UAA from Market Perform to Outperform and raised the price target from $23 to $25.

Under Armour shares rose 0.2% to $18.90 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Citigroup Inc C is in advanced talks with Taiwan’s Fubon Financial Holding Co. on $1.5 billion China asset sale, Bloomberg reported.
• Plus Therapeutics PSTV reported an offering of up to $5 million.
• Elliott Investment Management and Vista Equity Partners are in advanced talks to buy software-maker Citrix Systems Inc CTXS, Bloomberg reported recently.
• Schmitt Industries, Inc. SMIT reported net income of $0.57 per share for the three months ended November 30, 2021, versus a year-ago net loss of $0.63, per share. Consolidated revenues jumped 45.9% year-over-year to $2.961 million for the quarter.

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