U.S. Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Earnings; Crude Oil Falls

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade on Tuesday after the Wall Street closed slightly lower in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Caterpillar Inc. CAT, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD and Starbucks Corporation SBUX.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans is set to speak at 9:00 a.m. ET, while the Labor Department's JOLTS report for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 142 points to 32,625.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 25.75 points to 4,094.75. Futures for the Nasdaq index dipped 101.50 points to 12,861.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.8% to trade at $99.23 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.4% to trade at $93.49 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 93,225,110 with around 1,055,570 deaths. India reported a total of at least 44,050,000 confirmed cases, while France confirmed over 33,866,820 cases.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.6%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.2%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.5%, while German DAX fell 0.7%.

The Nationwide House Price Index in the UK surged 11.0% year-over-year in July, higher than 10.7% in the previous month.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.42%, while China’s Shanghai Composite dipped 2.26% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 2.36%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1%, while India’s S&P BSE Sensex surged 0.3%.

The Reserve Bank of Australia increased the cash rate by 50 bps to 1.85% during its recent meeting. Private house approvals in Australia climbed 1.25 month-over-month to 9,834 units in June, while building permits fell by 0.7% to 16,461 units. Retail sales in Hong Kong fell 4.1% year-over-year in June following a revised 4.8% decline in May.

Broker Recommendation

Keybanc maintained Apple Inc AAPL with an Overweight and raised the price target from $173 to $177.

Apple shares slipped 0.9% to $160.02 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. ZI reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter and also raised its revenue guidance for FY22
• Pinterest, Inc. PINS reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its second quarter on Monday. However, Pinterest shares rose sharply in after-hours trading after Elliott Investment Management announced they are now Pinterest's largest investor.
• Apple, Inc. AAPL is facing another antitrust lawsuit over its App Store fees in the U.S. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Monday by the law firm Hagens Berman, along with a Paris-based antitrust lawyer.
• BP Plc BP boosted its dividend after reporting a sharp rise in profits for the second quarter. The company also announced plans to repurchase $3.5 billion of shares over the next three months.

Check out other breaking news here