U.S. Stock Futures Edge Lower; FOMC Meeting Minutes In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade on Tuesday ahead of the release of minutes from the latest Fed meeting.

New York Fed President John Williams is set to speak at 9:00 a.m. ET. The services PMI for June is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the ISM services index for June and Labor Department's JOLTS report for May will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET, with markets looking for some insights related to the upcoming rate increase and comments related to recession from the Fed members.

Check out this: Markets Looking For Recession-Related Comments From Fed, Here's The Major Macro Issues For Wednesday

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 33 points to 30,903.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 4.25 points to 3,829.75. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 13 points to 11,795.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.5% to trade at $104.34 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.9% to trade at $104.34 a barrel. The API’s report on crude oil stocks will be released today.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 89,731,790 with around 1,043,870 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,547,800 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 32,610,830 cases.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 1.3%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.6% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.2%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 1.3%, while German DAX gained 1.2%. Retail sales in the Eurozone rose 0.2% in May over a month ago, following from a 1.4% decline in the prior period, while construction PMI declined to 47 in June from 49.2 in May. The S&P Global/CIPS UK construction PMI dropped to 52.6 in June from 56.4 in May, while German construction PMI rose to 45.9 from 45.4. The S&P Global Italy’s construction PMI slipped to 50.4 in June from 54.3 a month ago, while French construction PMI dropped to 46.4 in June from 50.9. Industrial production in Spain climbed 3.8% year-over-year in May.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.2%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 1.43% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.22%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5%, while India’s S&P BSE Sensex rose 1%. The S&P Global Hong Kong PMI dropped to 52.4 in June, compared to 54.9 a month ago.

Broker Recommendation

Cleveland Research upgraded Dollar General Corporation DG from Neutral to Buy.

Dollar General shares rose 0.4% to $251.05 in pre-market trading.

Check out this: Kornit Digital, Simulations Plus And 3 Stocks To Watch Heading Into Wednesday

Breaking News

• Days after it suspended trading, deposits, and withdrawals on its platform, cryptocurrency lending platform Voyager Digital LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York, according to its court filing.
• Kornit Digital Ltd. KRNT reported preliminary results for the second quarter. The company said it expects revenues of $56.4 million to $59.4 million, compared to analysts’ estimates of $91.41 million, net of a non-cash warrant impact of $4.6 million.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin could reportedly offer Ukraine a ceasefire as he attempts to fortify Russian advances in Luhansk and Donbas, but only after his army takes over all of the latter regions.
• STAG Industrial, Inc. STAG announced changed to its management, appointing William R. Crooker to the role of CEO. The company also named Ben Butcher as Executive Chair of Board and Mike Chase as Executive Vice President.

Check out other breaking news here