A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mixed Ahead of Jobs Data; Amazon Posts Upbeat Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mixed in early pre-market trade as Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company BMY, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. APD, Spectrum Brands Holdings SPB and Aon AON.

U.S. jobs cut report for January is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Analysts expect a rise of 150,000 nonfarm payrolls in January versus a 199,000 increase in the previous month. The unemployment rate is projected to remain at 3.9%.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61 points to 34,910.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 9 points to 4,478.00. Futures for the Nasdaq index climbed 118.25 points to 14,610.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 77,150,410 with around 920,820 deaths. India reported a total of at least 41,952,710 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 26,099,730 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.4% to trade at $92.35 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.4% to trade at $91.56 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.9%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 1% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.5%, while German DAX dropped 1.2%. Retail sales in the Eurozone fell 3% in December, while construction PMI rose to 56.6 in January from 52.9 in December. New car registrations in the UK surged 27.5% percent year-over-year to 115,087 units in January, while construction PMI rose to 56.3 in January from 54.3 in December. The IHS Markit France construction PMI climbed to 52 in January from 50.9 in the previous month, while German construction PMI climbed to 54.4 from 48.2. The IHS Markit Italy’s construction PMI surged to a fresh series high of 68.2 in January. New orders for German manufactured goods rose 2.8% in December, while French industrial production slipped 0.2% in December.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.73%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 3.2%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6%, while India’s BSE SENSEX dropped 0.2%.

Broker Recommendation

Goldman Sachs downgraded Exelon Corporation EXC from Buy to Neutral and lowered the price target from $62 to $44.

Exelon shares fell 1.8% to $43.01 in pre-market trading.

Check out this: Executives Sell Over $20M Of 5 Stocks

Breaking News

• Pinterest, Inc. PINS reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. Its global MAUs slipped 6% year-over-year.
• Ford Motor Company F reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter EPS results.
• Snap Inc. SNAP reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter. Global daily active users totaled 319 million in the fourth quarter, representing a 20% year-over-year increase.
• Lazydays Holdings Inc LAZY reported preliminary fourth-quarter revenue of $322.5 million, representing a 64% year-on-year growth, versus the consensus of $287.9 million.

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