A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Lower Amid Ukraine Tensions

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade due to rising concerns in Ukraine. The United States said Russia had amassed troops on the Ukrainian border to launch an invasion, Reuters reported. The Dow Jones tumbled 500 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from TreeHouse Foods, Inc. THS, Advance Auto Parts, Inc. AAP and Avis Budget Group, Inc. CAR.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 292 points to 34,335.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 41.75 points to 4,367.75. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 154.75 points to 14,085.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.4% to trade at $94.07 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.3% to trade at $92.78 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs climbed by 19 to 516 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 79,325,570 with around 943,410 deaths. India reported a total of at least 42,665,530 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 27,483,030 cases.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index dropped 2.7%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 2.9% and London’s FTSE 100 fell 2.1%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 3.3%, while German DAX dipped 3.5%.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 2.23%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.41% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.98%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4%, while India’s BSE SENSEX dipped 3%. The annual wholesale price inflation rate in India dropped to 12.96% in January from 13.56% in the previous month, while total passenger vehicles sales in the country rose 15.9% from the prior month to 254,287 units in January.

Broker Recommendation

Raymond James downgraded CVS Health Corporation CVS from Strong Buy to Outperform and raised the price target from $115 to $120.

CVS Health shares fell 1.8% to $102.40 in after-hours trading.

Check out this: Insiders Buy Over $43M Of 4 Stocks

Breaking News

• Axis Bank is set to buy Citigroup's C $2.5 billion India retail unit, Bloomberg reported.
• ALJ Regional Holdings, Inc. ALJJ reported a loss from continuing operations of $0.22 per share for the first quarter, versus a year-ago loss from continuing operations of $0.04 per share.
• BYD Co BYDDY, backed by veteran investor Warren Buffett, has filed for the Metaverse trademark, cnEVpost reported on Monday.
• Tesla Inc TSLA may build a new factory in Shenyang, a city in China’s northeast, cnEVpost reported on Sunday, citing a government release.

Check out other breaking news here