A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down As Investors Assess Russia-Ukraine Situation

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq surged more than 400 points in the previous session. 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 Foot Locker, Inc. FL and Carter's, Inc. CRI.

Data on durable goods orders, personal income and outlays for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index and pending home sales index will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 310 points to 32,846.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 44.75 points to 4,239.25. Futures for the Nasdaq index tumbled 160.25 points to 13,806.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.4% to trade at $96.78 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures climbed 1.2% to trade at $93.96 a barrel. US crude oil inventories increased 4.515 million barrels in the week ended February 18th, the EIA said Thursday. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is scheduled for release at 1:00 p.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 80,446,580 with around 969,600 deaths. India reported a total of at least 42,894,340 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 28,580,990 cases.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.7%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.1% and London’s FTSE 100 gained 1.2%. The French CAC 40 Index gained 0.5%, while German DAX rose 0.2%. The annual inflation rate in France accelerated to 3.6% in February from 2.9 % in December, while quarterly economic growth was confirmed at 0.7% on quarter during the three months to December. The German economy shrank by 0.3% on quarter during the final three months of 2021, while import prices surged 26.9% year-over-year in January. UK’s car production dropped 20.1% year-over-year to 68,790 units in January, while GfK consumer confidence indicator fell to its weakest level in 13 months at -26 in February.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.95%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.6% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.6%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1%, while India’s BSE SENSEX jumped 2.6%. The index of coincident economic indicators in Japan rose to 92.7 in December from flash reading of 92.6, while index of leading economic indicators was revised higher to 104.8 in December from a preliminary reading of 104.3.

Broker Recommendation

Piper Sandler maintained Autodesk, Inc. ADSK with an Overweight and lowered the price target from $340 to $298..

Autodesk shares fell 2% to $213.93 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Intuit Inc. INTU reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.
• Coinbase Global, Inc. COIN reported stronger-than-expected sales for its fourth quarter. Total retail trading volume was $177 billion, up 90% quarter-over-quarter. However, the company warned trading volume will drop in the first quarter.
• Dell Technologies Inc. DELL reported downbeat earnings for its fourth quarter, but sales topped estimates. The company also announced plans to initiate quarterly dividend at $0.33 per share.
• Kimberly-Clark Corporation KMB said it has completed its acquisition of a majority stake in Thinx, Inc.

Check out other breaking news here