U.S. Stock Futures Mostly Lower After Fed Boosts Rates; Apple, Amazon Earnings In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly lower in early pre-market trade on Thursday after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 bps on Wednesday. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Apple Inc. AAPL, Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, Pfizer Inc. PFE and Mastercard Incorporated MA.

Data on initial jobless claims and Gross Domestic Product will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for July will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Apple, Amazon.com And 5 Stocks To Watch Heading Into Thursday

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 23 points to 32,143.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 12.50 points to 4,012.00. Futures for the Nasdaq index dipped 106 points to 12,513.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.5% to trade at $103.25 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.6% to trade at $103.25 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 92,761,860 with around 1,053,960 deaths. India reported a total of at least 43,959,320 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 33,707,060 cases.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 1.3%. The French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1%, while German DAX fell 0.2%.

Producer prices in France surged 1.3% month-over-month in June following a 0.3% decline in May. Retail sales in Spain rose 1% year-over-year in June, while unemployment rate dropped to 12.48% in the quarter ending June from 13.65% in the prior three-month period. UK car production rose 5.6% year-over-year to 72,946 units in June.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.36%, while China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.21% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.23%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1%, while India’s S&P BSE Sensex surged 1.8%.

Retail sales in Australia climbed 0.2% from a month ago to another record level of AUD 34.24 billion for June, while export prices rose by 10.1% on quarter in Q2. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority increased the base rate by 75 basis points to 2.75% at its recent meeting.

Broker Recommendation

Jefferies downgraded Best Buy Co., Inc. BBY from Buy to Hold and lowered the price target from $106 to $71.

Best Buy shares fell 3.4% to $71.94 in pre-market trading.

Check out this: Why This Healthcare Stock Dipped Over 75%; Here Are 73 Biggest Movers From Yesterday

Breaking News

• Spirit Airlines, Inc. SAVE reported termination of merger agreement with Frontier. The Wall Street Journal reported that JetBlue Airways Corporation JBLU is nearing a deal to buy Spirit.
• Meta Platforms, Inc. META reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its second quarter on Wednesday. Daily active users for the company were 1.97 billion in the second quarter, up 3% year-over-year. Monthly active users for the company were 2.93 billion in the second quarter, up 1% year-over-year
• Bitcoin BTC/USD, the world’s most valued cryptocurrency, managed to surpass the $23,000 mark on Thursday morning following the Fed’s rate decision.
• QUALCOMM Incorporated QCOM reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter, but issued a weak sales forecast for the current quarter.

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