A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down Following Surge In Covid-19 Cases

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade following stalled stimulus talks and a record increase in Covid-19 cases in the country.

Investors are awaiting earnings from Hasbro, Inc. HAS, HCA Healthcare Inc HCA and NXP Semiconductors NV NXPI. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for September is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on new home sales for September will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Dallas Fed Manufacturing index for October is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 245 points to 27,944 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 30 points to 3,421.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 90.50 points to 11,573.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 8,636,160 with around 225,230 deaths. India reported a total of at least 7,909,950 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 5,394,120 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 2.4% to trade at $40.78 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 2.6% to trade at $38.80 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs rose by 6 to 211 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported Friday.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today following a rise in coronavirus cases, and new restrictions in Europe. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.2% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 0.5%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.5%, while German DAX 30 dropped 2% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1%. German Ifo Business Climate indicator dipped to 92.7 in October versus a seven-month high of 93.2 in September. Spain's producer prices dropped 3.3% year-over-year in September after falling 3.5% in the prior month.

Asian markets traded lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.09%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.82% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 1.4%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded lower by 0.2%. Japanese corporate services price index showed a growth of 1.3% year-over-year.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at KeyBanc upgraded Installed Building Products Inc IBP from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced a $120 price target.

Installed Building Products shares rose 2.9% to close at $106.50 on Friday.

Breaking News

• SAP SE SAP reported around 4% year-over-year drop in revenue for the third quarter and lowered its revenue outlook for the year.
• Blackstone Group Inc BX agreed to buy self-storage company Simply Self Storage from Brookfield Asset Management Inc BAM for a $1.2 billion consideration, according to the Wall Street Journal
• AstraZeneca plc's AZN data from COVID-19 vaccine trial, developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford, showed encouraging signs for the elderly, the Financial Times reported.
• Airbnb is splitting its privately held shares 2-for-1 ahead of its initial public offering, Bloomberg reported Sunday.