A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Jobless Claims, Producer Price Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq Composite tumbled over 3% in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from US Foods Holding Corp. USFD, Motorola Solutions, Inc. MSI and Tapestry, Inc. TPR.

Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and Producer Price Index for April will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly will speak at 4:00 p.m. ET.

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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 137 points to 31,606.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 14.25 points to 3,916.00. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 108.75 points to 11,897.25.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 2.1% to trade at $105.21 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 2.4% to trade at $103.17 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 83,953,370 with around 1,025,760 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,113,410 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 30,617,780 cases.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 1.9%, London’s FTSE 100 dipped 2% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 1%. The French CAC 40 Index declined 2%, while German DAX fell 1.9%. The British economy grew 8.7% year-over-year in the first quarter, compared to 6.6% growth in the previous quarter. Construction output in the UK increased by 4.7% year-over-year in March, while industrial production eased 0.2% from a month ago in March. The UK trade deficit widened to GBP 11.5 billion in March from a revised GBP 9.2 billion gap in the prior month.

Asian markets traded lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.77%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 2.24% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.12%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.75% and India’s S&P BSE Sensex fell 2%. Japanese current account surplus widened to 2,549.3 billion yen in March from 1,648.3 billion yen in the prior month, while the gauge for service sector sentiment in Japan increased 2.6 points from a month ago to a four month high level of 47.8 in April. Private house approvals in Australia fell 3.0% month-over-month to 9,932 units in March, while building permits dropped by 18.5% to 15,183 units.

Broker Recommendation

Keybanc downgraded Semrush Holdings, Inc. SEMR from Overweight to Sector Weight.

SEMrush shares fell 2% to close at $8.78 on Wednesday.

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Breaking News

• Walt Disney Co DIS reported second-quarter financial results after the market close Wednesday. Disney reported revenue of $19.3 billion for the second quarter and earnings per share of $1.08. The company reported 44.4 million domestic Disney+ subscribers, up 19% year-over-year.
• North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared a "serious emergency" and ordered lockdowns across the country after confirming the first-ever Covid-19 case in the country on Thursday.
• Beyond Meat, Inc. BYND reported downbeat results for its first quarter on Wednesday.
• Amdocs Limited DOX posted better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter and narrowed its FY22 pro forma revenue growth guidance.

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