A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Plunge As Russia Attacks Ukraine; Dow Futures Down 600 Points

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded sharply lower in early pre-market trade after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced that the country’s armed forces would carry out a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Moderna, Inc. MRNA, Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA and Dell Technologies Inc. DELL.

Data on initial jobless claims, Gross Domestic Product and Chicago Fed National Activity Index will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on new home sales for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for February is scheduled for release at 11:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin is set to speak at 9:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic will speak at 11:10 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester and Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin will speak at 12:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller will speak at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 604 points to 32,462.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 78.75 points to 4,143.25. Futures for the Nasdaq index tumbled 342.50 points to 13,165.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures jumped 6.5% to trade at $100.19 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures climbed 6.6% to trade at $98.14 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET, while the EIA’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 80,372,400 with around 966,530 deaths. India reported a total of at least 42,881,170 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 28,485,500 cases.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 2.9%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 3.2% and London’s FTSE 100 dipped 2.5%. The French CAC 40 Index tumbled 3.3%, while German DAX declined 3.3%. The consumer confidence index in France declined by 1 point to 98 in February.

Asian markets traded lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 1.8%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 3.2% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.7%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 3%, while India’s BSE SENSEX dipped 4.7%. Total new capital expenditure in Australia increased 1.1% quarter-on-quarter during the three months to December.

Broker Recommendation

Berenberg downgraded The Mosaic Company MOS from Buy to Hold.

Mosaic shares rose 1% to $45.65 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• eBay Inc. EBAY reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter, but issued weak outlook for the current quarter.
• Moscow Exchange, the largest exchange group in Russia, on Thursday (Moscow time) announced it has halted the trading of all markets, as per local media reports.
• NetApp, Inc. NTAP reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, but issued weak earnings forecast for the fourth quarter.
• Rent-A-Center, Inc. RCII reported worse-than-expected Q4 results and issued weak guidance.

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