A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down; All Eyes On Jobs Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade ahead of the all-important jobs report for November. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Hibbett HIBB, Big Lots BIG and Genesco GCO.

US jobs report for November is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Analysts expect nonfarm payrolls rising 545,000 in November, following a 531,000 increase in the previous month. The unemployment rate might decline to 4.5% from 4.6%. US services Purchasing Managers' Index for November will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET, while data on factory orders for October and ISM's services index for November will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 71 points to 34,551.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 12.50 points to 4,563.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 55 points to 15,933.50.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 49,716,820 with around 806,390 deaths. India reported a total of at least 34,615,750 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 22,118,780 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 2.7% to trade at $71.52 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 2.8% to trade at $68.34 a barrel. US natural-gas supplies dropped 59 billion cubic feet last week, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.3% and STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2% while German DAX 30 gained 0.4%. The IHS Markit Eurozone services PMI was revised lower to 55.9 in November versus a preliminary reading of 56.6. The IHS Markit France services PMI climbed to 57.4 in November from 56.6 in the prior month, while industrial production increased 0.9% in October. France's government budget deficit increased to EUR 171.6 billion in January-October of 2021, compared to EUR 159.9 billion in the year-ago period. German services PMI was fell to 52.7 in November from a preliminary estimates of 53.4. Spain’s services PMI climbed to 59.8 in November from 56.6 a month ago, while Italy’s services PMI increased to 55.9 in November from 52.4 in the prior month.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.09% and China’s Shanghai Composite jumped 0.94%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.22%, while India’s BSE Sensex fell 1.3%. The IHS Markit Indian services PMI fell to 58.1 in November from 58.4 in October, while China’s general services PMI fell to 52.1 in November from 53.8 in the previous month. Japanese services PMI was revised higher to a 27-month high level of 53.0 in November, while IHS Markit Hong Kong SAR PMI jumped to a three-month high of 52.6. The IHS Markit Australian services PMI rose to 55.7 in November from a preliminary of 55, while construction PMI fell to 57.0 in November.

Broker Recommendation

UBS downgraded DocuSign, Inc. DOCU from Buy to Neutral and lowered the price target from $350 to $170.

DocuSign shares dipped 32% to $158.92 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk sold another 934,091 shares worth around $1.01 billion in order to fulfill his tax obligations, as per filings made with the U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission Thursday. Musk also exercised options to purchase 2.1 million shares of the automaker at $6.24, as per one of the filings.
• Ulta Beauty, Inc. ULTA reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter and raised its FY21 forecast.
• Zumiez Inc. ZUMZ reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter.
• DiDi Global Inc. DIDI said that its board of directors had authorized the company to initiate procedures to delist the company’s shares from the New York Stock Exchange. The company, however, announced plans to pursue a listing of its class A ordinary shares on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

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