A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of GDP Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones jumped more than 300 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Five Below, Inc. FIVE, Paychex, Inc. PAYX and BioNTech SE BNTX.

The ADP national employment report for March will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET, while Gross Domestic Product report for the fourth quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin is set to speak at 9:15 a.m. ET, while Kansas City Fed President Esther George will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 73 points to 35,117.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 12 points to 4,613.50. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 60.25 points to 15,177.50.

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Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.3% to trade at $109.07 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.3% to trade at $105.60 a barrel. The American Petroleum Institute reported crude oil inventories fell 3.0 million barrels last week. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 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 81,686,620 with around 1,005,050 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,023,210 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 29,882,390 cases.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.6%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.8% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 1%, while German DAX dropped 1.3%.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.8%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.4% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped 2%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7%, while India’s BSE SENSEX rose 1.1%. Retail sales in Japan dropped by 0.8% year-over-year in February, versus market estimates of a 0.3% decline.

Broker Recommendation

Loop Capital initiated coverage on Nordson Corporation NDSN with a Hold rating and announced a price target of $250.

Nordson shares rose 1.8% to close at $232.62 on Tuesday.

Check out this: Executives Buy Over $2.2M Of 3 Penny Stocks

Breaking News

• Lululemon Athletica Inc. LULU reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and issued strong forecast for the full year.
• Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA led a $60 million funding round for Nio Inc NIO-backed augmented reality glasses maker Nreal, CNBC reported on Wednesday, citing the startup.
• Micron Technology MU reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter and also issued strong forecast for the current quarter.
• RH RH reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed estimates. The company also reported a 3-for-1 stock split.

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