A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Fall; Crude Oil Surges Over 4%

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq surged 2% in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from NIKE, Inc. NKE, Pinduoduo Inc. PDD and Tencent Music Entertainment Group TME.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for February is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 8:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 91 points to 34,542.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 6.25 points to 4,447.25. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 59.25 points to 14,354.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 4.5% to trade at $112.82 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 4.7% to trade at $109.64 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs slipped by 3 to 524 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 81,410,100 with around 997,930 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,009,390 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 29,630,480 cases.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index slipped 0.1%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.3% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1%, while German DAX fell 0.1%. Annual producer inflation in Germany surged a fresh record high for of 25.9% in February from 25% in January.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.65%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.89% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.08%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2%, while India’s BSE SENSEX fell 0.9%. The People's Bank of China maintained its one-year loan prime rate at 3.7%. Hong Kong’s current account surplus increased to HKD 96.1 billion in the fourth quarter from HKD 33.4 billion in the year-ago period.

Broker Recommendation

Keybanc downgraded Huntsman Corporation HUN from Overweight to Sector Weight.

Huntsman shares fell 1% to close at $39.43 on Friday.

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Breaking News

• Anaplan, Inc. PLAN agreed to be acquired by Thoma Bravo in an all-cash deal valued at around $10.7 billion..
• Pyxis Tankers Inc. PXS reported a loss of $0.14 per share for the fourth quarter. The company’s sales, however, topped market expectations.
• Volkswagen Group VWAGY said on Monday its China subsidiary will set up two joint ventures, with Huayou Cobalt and Tsingshan Group, to secure nickel and cobalt for making electric-vehicle batteries.
• Brookfield Business Partners L.P. BBU announced plans to acquire La Trobe Financial for around $1.1 billion.

Check out other breaking news here