A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mixed Ahead Of Jobless Claims, Fed Speakers

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mixed in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq Composite dipped more than 300 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Conagra Brands, Inc. CAG, Constellation Brands, Inc. STZ and PriceSmart, Inc. PSMT.

Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Analysts expect jobless claims declining to 200,000 for the April 2 week from 202,000 in the previous week. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard is set to speak at 9:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans will speak at 2:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams is set to speak at 4:05 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 72 points to 34,327.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 2 points to 4,473.75. Futures for the Nasdaq index rose 33.75 points to 14,539.00.

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Oil prices traded slightly higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $101.19 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.2% to trade at $96.38 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 81,950,240 with around 1,010,530 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,031,950 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 30,067,240 cases.

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A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.3%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.6% and London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.5%. The French CAC 40 Index gained 0.2%, while German DAX gained 0.1%. Industrial production in Germany rose 0.2% from a month ago in February, versus a revised 1.4% increase in January. The Halifax house price index in the UK rose 11% year-over-year in March.

Asian markets traded lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.69%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped 1.23%, and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 1.42%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.6%, while India’s BSE SENSEX fell 0.5%. The index of coincident economic indicators in Japan fell to a three-month low of 95.5 in February from a revised 95.6 a month ago, while index of leading economic indicators dropped to 100.9 in February from 102.5. Australia's trade surplus shrank to AUD 7.46 billion in February from a revised AUD 11.79 billion in the prior month. The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Services Index declined to 56.2 in March versus a nine-month high of 60 a month ago.

Broker Recommendation

Keybanc downgraded The Southern Company SO from Overweight to Sector Weight.

Southern shares fell 0.1% to $76.48 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Levi Strauss & Co. LEVI reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter and also reaffirmed its FY22 guidance.
• Nio Inc’s NIO head of autonomous driving systems engineering, Zhang Jianyong, is leaving the company to start his own automotive chips venture, CnEVpost reported on Thursday, citing XEV Lab, a media outlet focusing on the smart car industry.
• Costco Wholesale Corporation COST reported net sales of $21.61 billion for the retail month of March, a 18.7% surge from last year. Its comparable-store sales jumped 17.2% during the month.
• In the lead-up to the Philippines' 2022 general elections, Meta Platforms, Inc FB says it has taken down over 400 accounts, Pages, and Groups focused on fake engagements.

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