Benzinga | Jul 22, 2020 06:24AM EDT

A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Drop; Microsoft, Tesla Earnings In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade, after closing mostly higher in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB), and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). The FHFA house price index for May will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET, while data on existing home sales for June will be released at 10:00 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 3,902,130 with around 142,060 deaths. Brazil confirmed over 2,159,650 cases, while India reported a total of at least 1,193,070 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 111 points to 26,615 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures traded fell 13.3 points to 3,238.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 20.25 points to 10,830.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.9% to trade at $43.94 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.1% to trade at $41.45 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration's weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 1.1% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.9%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.8%, while French CAC 40 Index fell 1% and German DAX 30 declined 0.3%.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.58%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 2.25%, China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.37% and India's BSE Sensex fell 0.2%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Atlantic Equities upgraded JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) from Neutral to Overweight and announced a $120 price target.

JPMorgan shares fell 0.2% to $99.22 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

* Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter.

* Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) reported upbeat earnings and sales for its second quarter, while user growth numbers missed expectations. The company also issued weak outlook for daily active users in the current quarter.

* Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter.

* Evercore Inc (NYSE:EVR) reported upbeat earnings for its second quarter.