A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down Ahead of Services PMI, Fed Speakers

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq Composite surged around 270 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from SMART Global Holdings, Inc. SGH and Lindsay Corporation LNN.

Data on international trade in goods and services for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on services PMI for March will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET. The ISM services PMI for March is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari is set to speak at 10:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard will speak at 11:05 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams is set to speak at 2:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 86 points to 34,743.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures slipped 11.50 points to 4,566.25. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 42.75 points to 15,121.50.

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Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.1% to trade at $108.66 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.2% to trade at $104.52 a barrel. The API’s report on crude oil stocks will be released later during the day.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 81,832,610 with around 1,008,190 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,029,040 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 29,999,810 cases.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.2%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.4% and London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 1.6%, while German DAX dropped 0.6%. The S&P Global Eurozone Composite PMI increased to 54.9 in March from a preliminary reading of 54.5, while services PMI was revised higher to 55.6 in March from a preliminary estimate of 54.8. The S&P Global France composite PMI climbed to 56.3 in March from 55.5 in February, while UK services PMI was revised higher to 62.6 in March from a preliminary of 61. German services PMI was revised higher to 56.1 in March from a preliminary of 55. France's industrial production dropped 0.9% from a month ago in February.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.19% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 2.1%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2%, while India’s BSE SENSEX fell 0.7%. The Reserve Bank of Australia maintained the cash rate unchanged at a record low level of 0.1%. Japan’s services PMI rose to 49.4 in March from the preliminary estimate of 48.7, while household spending rose by 1.1% in real terms from the previous year in February.

Broker Recommendation

MKM Partners downgraded Twitter, Inc. TWTR from Buy to Neutral and announced a $49 price target.

Twitter shares rose 0.9% to $50.41 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• The United States and Europe are working on new sanctions against Russia over reports of committing mass killings of civilians in Ukraine, according to Reuters.
• Nio Inc NIO is in talks with several automakers for licensing its battery-swapping technology, Financial Times reported, citing the electric vehicle maker’s European president Hui Zhang.
• Acuity Brands, Inc. AYI reported upbeat results for its second quarter.
• Xponential Fitness, Inc. XPOF reported a public offering of 4.5 million shares of the common stock by selling stockholders.

Check out other breaking news here