Dow, Nasdaq Futures Lower Ahead Of Fed Meeting

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade on Tuesday after recording gains on Monday. The Dow Jones closed higher by around 197 points, while the Nasdaq Composite rose around 0.8% in the previous session.

The Federal Open Market Committee will start its two-day policy meeting today. The US Federal Reserve will announce its policy decision on Wednesday, with markets expecting an interest rate increase of at least 75 basis points.

Data on housing starts and permits for August will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. US housing starts are expected to slow to a 1.440 million annualized rate from 1.446 million in the previous month. Permits are projected at 1.621 million compared to July's 1.685 million.

Investors are also awaiting earnings results from Apogee Enterprises, Inc. APOG and Stitch Fix, Inc. SFIX.

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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 83 points to 31,034.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 15 points to 3,902.25. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 67 points to 11,957.00.

Commodities

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.1% to trade at $93.00 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.9% to trade at $86.45 a barrel. The API’s report on crude oil stocks will be released later during the day.

Gold futures slipped 0.1% to trade at $1,676.70 an ounce, while silver traded down 0.2% at $19.315 an ounce on Tuesday.

 

A Peek Into Global Markets

Europe Markets

European markets were mostly lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.3%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index dropped 0.4%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.4%, while German DAX dropped 0.3%.

The Eurozone recorded a current account deficit of €10.1 billion in July versus a €36.8 billion surplus in the year-ago period. Spain's trade deficit increased to EUR 6.56 billion in July from EUR 1.60 billion in the year-ago month. The annual producer inflation in Germany accelerated to a fresh record high of 45.8% in August from 37.2% in the previous month.

Asia-Pacific Markets

Asian markets traded higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.44%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.16% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.22%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.3%, while India’s S&P BSE SENSEX jumped 1.3%.

China’s central bank held its benchmark lending rates unchanged at September fixing. The annual inflation rate in Japan climbed to 3.0% in August from 2.6% in the prior month, while core consumer price index increased 2.8% from a year ago in August.

 

Broker Recommendation

Wells Fargo downgraded Huntsman Corporation HUN from Overweight to Equal-Weight.

Huntsman shares fell 2.1% to $25.25 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

 

• Ford Motor Company F previewed the effect of parts shortages on the company in the third-quarter and said inflation-related supplier costs during the third quarter will run about $1.0 billion higher than originally expected. The company also projects to have about 40,000 to 45,000 vehicles in inventory at end of third quarter lacking certain parts presently in short supply.
• O2Micro International Limited OIIM announced receipt of a revised preliminary non-binding proposal to acquire the company.
• Oxford Industries, Inc. OXM reported the acquisition of Johnny Was for $270 million and raised its guidance. The company said it sees FY22 sales of $1.375 billion to $1.405 billion and adjusted EPS of $10.25 to $10.60.
• Cognex Corp CGNX boosted its guidance for the third quarter ahead of its analyst day, which is scheduled for Tuesday.

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