Benzinga | Oct 18, 2021 06:06AM EDT

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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones surged more than 1% in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Albertsons Companies Inc (NYSE:ACI), Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD), State Street Corp (NYSE:STT) and Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION).

Data on industrial production for September will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET, while the housing market index for October is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari will speak at 2:15 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 111 points to 35,060.00 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures declined 16 points to 4,446.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 64.25 points to 15,070.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 45,792,530 with around 744,540 deaths. India reported a total of at least 34,081,310 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 21,644,460 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.6% to trade at $85.33 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.1% to trade at $83.15 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs rose by 12 to 445 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported Friday.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.7% and STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.4%. The French CAC 40 Index declined 0.9%, London's FTSE 100 fell 0.2% while German DAX 30 fell 0.5%.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.66%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.31% and China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.12%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% and India's BSE Sensex gained 0.9%. China's retail trade increased 4.4% year-over-year in September, following a 2.5% growth a month ago, while unemployment rate dropped to a 33-month low of 4.9% in September. Industrial production in China rose 3.1% year-over-year in September, while the country's economy grew 4.9% annually in the third quarter.

Broker Recommendation

Barclays downgraded The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) from Overweight to Equal-Weight and lowered the price target from $210 to $175.

Disney shares fell 1.3% to $174.10 in pre-market trading.

Check out other major ratings here



Breaking News

* Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) disclosed that its COVID-19 vaccine booster shot has been recommended for Emergency Use Authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.

* Key Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (OTC:HNHPF) on Sunday launched three new electric vehicles at its annual tech day.

* Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) said on Sunday it would be creating 10,000 new jobs in the European Union over the next five years.

* Netflix Inc's (NASDAQ:NFLX) biggest original series, 'Squid Game,' is expected to generate $900 million in value for the company, Bloomberg reported.



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