Nasdaq Futures Down 200 Points Following Friday's Plunge; Crude Oil Drops

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade on Monday ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium, which is slated for Aug. 25. China, meanwhile, reduced its benchmark lending rates to boost a sluggish economy.. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Palo Alto Networks, Inc. PANW, Nordson Corporation NDSN and Zoom Video Communications, Inc. ZM.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The national activity index, which came in at minus 0.19 in both June and May, is expected to improve slightly to a reading of minus 0.02 for July.

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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 301 points to 33,405.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 48.50 points to 4,183.00. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 202 points to 13,066.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.9% to trade at $94.92 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 2% to trade at $89.00 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs came in unchanged at 601 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported Friday.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 95,345,850 with around 1,065,560 deaths. India reported a total of at least 44,348,960 confirmed cases, while France confirmed over 34,354,610 cases.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 1.1%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.7% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 1.3%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 1.8%, while German DAX fell 1.8%.

Annual producer inflation in Germany climbed to a fresh record high of 37.2% in July from 32.7% in the previous month.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.47%, China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.61%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.42%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.95%, while India’s S&P BSE SENSEX fell 1.25%.

The People's Bank of China has cut its benchmark loan and mortgage reference rates.

Broker Recommendation

Citigroup upgraded Vipshop Holdings Limited VIPS from Sell to Neutral and raised the price target from $7.8 to $10.9.

Vipshop shares rose 2.6% to $10.25 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Bitcoin BTC/USD, the world’s most valued cryptocurrency, dropped to a three-week low during the weekend, but traded slightly higher this morning.
• Twitter, Inc. TWTR is reportedly scaling back annual bonuses for employees amid the uncertain economic condition that is eating away at their bread-and-butter ad revenue.
• Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd. FRSX reported a Q2 non-GAAP loss of $0.03 per share, compared to a year-ago loss of $0.01 per share. Its revenue came in at $213,000 after generating no revenue in the three months ended June 30, 2021.
• Cineworld confirmed it may achieve its restructuring objectives via possible voluntary chapter 11 filing in the US.

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