Pre-open movers
U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones added around 300 points in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Aphria Inc (NASDAQ: APHA).
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren is set to speak at 1:00 p.m. ET. The U.S. Treasury statement for March is scheduled for release at 2:00 p.m. ET. Analysts expect Treasury’s monthly deficit of $658.0 billion for March versus a deficit of $310.9 billion in February.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 76 points to 33,606.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 6 points at 4,113.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 10.50 points to 13,819.00.
The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 31,197,870 with around 562,060 deaths. India reported a total of at least 13,527,710 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 13,482,020 cases.
Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.6% to trade at $63.35 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.5% to trade at $59.60 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs came in unchanged at 337 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported Friday.
A Peek Into Global Markets
European markets were mostly lower today . The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.7% and STOXX Europe 600 Index slipped 0.3%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.1%, German DAX 30 gained 0.1% while London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.5%. Eurozone’s retail trade increased 3.0% in February following a 5.2% decline in January.
Asian markets traded lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.77%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 1.09% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.86%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3%, while India’s BSE Sensex fell 3.7%. Producer prices in Japan increased 1% year-on-year in March versus a revised 0.6% decline a month earlier.
Broker Recommendation
Keybanc upgraded Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE: WLK) from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced a $124 price target.
Westlake Chemical shares rose 0.8% to $90.16 in pre-market trading.
Check out other major ratings here
Breaking News
- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd – ADR (NYSE: BABA) was fined a record $2.8 billion by China after a monopoly probe found that the company had abused its dominant market position..
- Reuters reported that Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE: IR) is nearing a $1.7 billion deal to sell Golf Cart business to Platinum Equity.
- Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is in talks to buy Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN), Bloomberg reported.
- DiaSorin S.p.A. announced plans to acquire Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ: LMNX) for a price of $37.00 per share in an all-cash deal.
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