A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Tumble Following New Sanctions Against Russia

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones surged more than 800 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated JLL. HP Inc. HPQ, Zoom Video Communications, Inc. ZM and DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. XRAY.

An advance report on U.S. international trade in goods and wholesale inventories will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Chicago PMI for February is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the Dallas Fed manufacturing index for February will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Data on farm prices for January will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 422 points to 33,552.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 65 points to 4,315.00. Futures for the Nasdaq index tumbled 203.50 points to 13,977.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 4.7% to trade at $98.57 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures climbed 4.7% to trade at $95.87 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs rose by 2 to 522 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported Friday.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 80,567,750 with around 973,110 deaths. India reported a total of at least 42,924,130 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 28,768,100 cases.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 1.5%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 1.3% and London’s FTSE 100 fell 1.2%. The French CAC 40 Index dipped 3.2%, while German DAX fell 2.4%. Spain’s current account balance swung to a deficit of EUR 1.31 billion in December versus a year-ago surplus of EUR 0.92 billion. Spain's annual inflation rate increased to 7.4% in February from 6.1% in January.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.19%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.24% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.32%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7%, while India’s BSE SENSEX jumped 0.7%. India's fiscal deficit shrank to INR 9.4 trillion in April-January of 2021-22 versus INR 12.3 trillion in the year-ago period. Japan's housing starts climbed 2.1% year-over-year in January, while retail sales in Japan rose 1.6% in January. Retail sales in Australia rose 1.8% month-on-month in January.

Broker Recommendation

BMO Capital downgraded Gilead Sciences, Inc. GILD from Outperform to Market Perform and lowered the price target from $75 to $65..

Gilead Sciences shares fell 0.5% to $60.80 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• W. R. Berkley Corporation WRB reported a 3-for-2 stock split. The company’s board also declared a regular quarterly cash dividend on its pre-split stock of $0.13 per share.
• Brown & Brown BRO announced plans to acquire Orchid Underwriters Agency and CrossCover Insurance Services.
• International Game Technology PLC IGT subsidiary IGT Lottery S.p.A. has agreed to sell its Italian proximity payment business to PostePay S.p.A. – Patrimonio Destinato IMELfor€700 million.
• Renewable Energy Group REGI shares jumped more than 32% in pre-market trading after Chevron announced plans to buy the company for $61.50 per share.

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