U.S. Stock Futures Gain Ahead of Services PMI; Crude Oil Drops Over 1%

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade on Wednesday after the Dow Jones dipped over 400 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from CVS Health Corporation CVS, Yum! Brands, Inc. YUM and Moderna, Inc. MRNA.

US Services Purchasing Managers' Index for July is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET, while data on factory orders for June and ISM services index for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker is set to speak at 10:30 a.m. ET.

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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 140 points to 32,505.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 18.75 points to 4,112.50. Futures for the Nasdaq index surged 651.50 points to 12,990.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.2% to trade at $99.29 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.2% to trade at $99.29 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. 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 93,319,700 with around 1,055,970 deaths. India reported a total of at least 44,067,140 confirmed cases, while France confirmed over 33,921,340 cases.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were slightly higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.1%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.5%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.3%, while German DAX gained 0.3%.

The annual producer inflation in the Eurozone dropped to 35.8% in June from 36.2% in May, while retail sales fell 1.2% month-over-month in June. Producer prices in the Eurozone increased 1.1% month-over-month in June, while services PMI was revised higher to 51.2 in July from a preliminary reading of 50.6. The S&P Global Italy Composite PMI dropped to 47.7 in July from 51.3 in the previous month, while UK’s Composite PMI fell to 52.1 in July from 53.7 in June. The S&P Global French Composite PMI slipped to 51.7 in July from 52.5 a month ago, while German Composite PMI rose slightly to 48.1 in July from a preliminary level of 48. Germany reported a trade surplus of €7.7 billion in June.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.53%, while China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.71% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.40%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3%, while India’s S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.3%.

The S&P Global India Composite PMI dropped to a three-month low level of 56.6 in July from 58.2 a month ago. Retail sales in Australia climbed by 0.2% from a month ago to a fresh record level of AUD 34.24 billion during June, while the country’s Composite PMI declined to 51.1 in July from a final level of 52.6 in June. The au Jibun Bank Japan Composite PMI was revised lower to 50.2 in July from a flash reading of 50.6, while S&P Global Hong Kong PMI fell to a three-month low of 52.3 in July.

Broker Recommendation

Credit Suisse downgraded Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. ESPR from Neutral to Underperform and lowered the price target from $7 to $6.

Esperion Therapeutics shares fell 3.8% to $5.65 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Starbucks Corp SBUX reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter, but missed market expectations for comparable sales.
• PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.
• Robinhood Markets Inc HOOD announced plans to reduce 23% of its staff after reporting downbeat sales for the second quarter. The company also reported a net loss of $295 million.
• Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD reported upbeat earnings for its second quarter and issued Q3 sales guidance with a midpoint below estimates.

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