A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down Following Wednesday's Surge

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. The Dow Jones gained more than 900 points in the previous session following an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve. Investors are awaiting earnings results from ConocoPhillips COP, McKesson Corporation MCK, and Kellogg Company K.

The Challenger job-cut report for April is scheduled for release at 7:30 a.m. ET, while data on initial jobless claims for the latest week, nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs for the first quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 194 points to 33,775.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 34.25 points to 4,261.00. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 142.50 points to 13,388.75.

Oil prices traded slightly lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.1% to trade at $110.06 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.3% to trade at $107.50 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage 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 83,356,490 with around 1,023,510 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,091,390 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 30,502,500 cases.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index climbed 1.1%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 1.2% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.1%. The French CAC 40 Index jumped 1.8%, while German DAX climbed 1.6%. The S&P Global Eurozone’s construction PMI slipped to 50.4 in April from March’s reading of 52.8. The S&P Global/CIPS UK services PMI was revised higher to 58.9 in April from a preliminary reading of 58.3, while new car registrations in the country dipped 15.8% year-over-year to 119,167 units in April. The S&P Global German construction PMI declined to 46 in April from 50.9 in March, while French construction PMI climbed to 50.7 in April from 48.4.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.68%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.36%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8% and India’s S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.8%. The S&P Global Indian services PMI rose to 57.9 in April from 53.6 in the previous month, while Chinese general services PMI fell to 36.3 in April from 42.0 in March. Australia's trade surplus widened to AUD 9.31 billion in March 2022 from a revised AUD 7.43 billion in the prior month. The S&P Global Hong Kong PMI climbed to 51.7 in April from 42.0 in the previous month. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority raised the base rate by 50 basis points.

Broker Recommendation

JP Morgan upgraded Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. ESPR from Underweight to Neutral.

Esperion Therapeutics shares rose 1.6% to $6.48 in after-hours trading.

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Breaking News

• eBay Inc. EBAY reported upbeat results for its first quarter, but issued weak forecast for the current quarter.
• Alphabet Inc-owned GOOGL Google's India arm has hired Archana Gulati, who previously worked for the central government think-tank Niti Aayog, as its new public policy head, according to a Reuters source.
• Etsy, Inc. ETSY reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter, but issued weak sales forecast for the current quarter.
• Identiv, Inc. INVE reported better-than-expected Q1 results and issued FY22 sales guidance above analyst estimates.

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