Benzinga | Jul 27, 2021 06:02AM EDT

A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Tech Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade ahead of earnings from big tech companies. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and General Electric Company (NYSE:GE).

The Federal Open Market Committee will begin its two-day policy meeting today. Data on durable goods orders for June will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index and FHFA house price index will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index and Richmond Fed manufacturing index will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 170 points to 34,864.00 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 16.25 points to 4,398.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 34.50 points to 15,083.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 34,533,180 with around 610,950 deaths. India reported a total of at least 31,440,950 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 19,707,660 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.2% to trade at $73.82 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $71.98 a barrel. The API's report on crude oil stocks will be released later during the day.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.7% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 0.7%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.8%, London's FTSE 100 fell 1.1% while German DAX 30 dropped 1.1%. Loans to households in the Eurozone increased 4.0% in June, versus a 3.9% rise in the prior month.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.49%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 4.52%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index dropped 2.49%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5% and India's BSE Sensex fell 0.4%. Profits earned by Chinese industrial firms gained 66.9% annually to CNY 4.22 trillion in January-June 2021.

Broker Recommendation

Needham downgraded Medallia, Inc. (NYSE:MDLA) from Buy to Hold.

Medallia shares fell 1% to $33.28 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here



Breaking News * Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter on Monday. Total vehicle production totaled 206,421, up 151% year over year. Deliveries in the second quarter were up 121% year-over-year to 201,304.

* EyeGate Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYEG) announced it entered a non-binding letter of intent to acquire Bayon Therapeutics for roughly $7.1 million.

* F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) reported upbeat results for its third quarter. The company also said it sees Q4 adjusted earnings of $2.68 to $2.80 per share on sales of $660 million to $680 million.

* Brown & Brown, Inc. reported upbeat earnings for its second quarter on Monday.

Check out other breaking news here