A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade ahead of earnings from various major companies. The Nasdaq index climbed to another record highs in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings reports from Verizon Communications Inc VZ, Johnson & Johnson JNJ and Lockheed Martin Corporation LMT, 3M Co MMM, General Electric Company GE and Microsoft Corporation MSFT.

The Federal Open Market Committee will begin its two-day policy meeting today. The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index and the FHFA house price index for November will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index and the Richmond Fed's manufacturing index for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 37 points to 30,831.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded slipped 9.75 points to 3,838.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 50 points to 13,425.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 25,297,070 with around 421,120 deaths. India reported a total of at least 10,676,830 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 8,871,390 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.4% to trade at $55.89 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.4% to trade at $53.00 a barrel. The API’s report on crude oil stocks will be released later during the day.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.2% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.8%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 1.1%, German DAX 30 gained 1.4% while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.7%. Spain’s producer prices dropped 1.4% year-over-year in December versus a 2.8% decline in the earlier month, while the unemployment rate in the UK increased to 5% in the three months to November versus 4.9% in the prior period.

Asian markets traded lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.96%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 1.51% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped 2.55%. The trade deficit in Hong Kong widened to HKD 45.7 billion in December from HKD 32.5 billion in the year-ago month.

Broker Recommendation

RBC Capital downgraded BlackBerry Ltd BB from Sector Perform to Underperform.

BlackBerry shares rose 18.2% to $21.31 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here

Breaking News

• Crane Co. CR reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Monday.
• Overstock.com Inc. OSTK announced a partnership with Pelion Venture Partners to oversee the blockchain assets of its subsidiary Medici Ventures.
• HB Fuller Co FUL reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter.
• GameStop Corporation GME short seller Melvin Capital Management LP said Monday it had received $2.75 billion in investment from hedge funds Citadel and Point72.

Check out other breaking news here