A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Fed Minutes

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq Composite dipped more than 300 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from RPM International Inc. RPM, Levi Strauss & Co. LEVI and The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. GBX.

Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker is set to speak at 9:30 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 104 points to 34,446.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 16.25 points to 4,504.00. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 84.25 points to 14,743.75.

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Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.2% to trade at $107.91 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.1% to trade at $103.05 a barrel. Stocks of crude oil in the US climbed by 1.08 million barrels in the week ended April 1st.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 81,900,010 with around 1,009,390 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,030,920 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 30,040,120 cases.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.8%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.6% and London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.4%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 1%, while German DAX dropped 1.1%. Factory orders in Germany dropped 2.2% from a month ago in February. The S&P Global Eurozone Construction PMI fell to 52.8 in March from 56.3 in February, while German construction PMI declined to 50.9 in March from 54.9. The IHS Markit France Construction PMI fell to 48.4 in March from 50 in the previous month.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.58%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped 2.07%, and China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.02%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5%, while India’s BSE SENSEX fell 0.8%. The S&P Global Indian services PMI rose to 53.6 in March from 51.8 in February, while Caixin China General Services PMI fell to 42.0 in March from 50.2 in February. The S&P Global Hong Kong PMI declined to 42.0 in March from 42.9 in the previous month.

Broker Recommendation

Piper Sandler downgraded Ameriprise Financial, Inc AMP from Neutral to Underweight and lowered the price target from $325 to $310.

Ameriprise Financial shares fell 0.2% to $298.01 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• SMART Global Holdings, Inc. SGH reported upbeat results for its second quarter. The company also said it sees Q3 adjusted EPS of $0.67 to $0.83 on sales of $435 million to $475 million.
• China’s key battery supplier Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) said on Wednesday it has secured the second partial approval for the commissioning of a new plant for battery cell production in Thuringia, Germany.
• Longeveron Inc. LGVN filed for a $50 million mixed securities offering.
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS plans to add over-the-counter (OTC) Ethereum ETH/USD options trading to its list of crypto product offerings.

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