A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mostly Lower; Disney, Cisco Earnings In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly lower in early pre-market trade, following a sharp rebound in the tech stocks in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings from Walt Disney Co DIS, TransDigm Group Incorporated TDG and Cisco Systems, Inc. CSCO.

The Consumer Price Index for October and data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 165 points to 29,146.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 5.75 points to 3,562.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 17 points to 11,903.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 10,401,130 with around 241,800 deaths. India reported a total of at least 8,683,910 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 5,747,660 cases.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.4% to trade at $43.64 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.3% to trade at $41.31 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.7% and STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.5%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.7%, while German DAX 30 declined 0.7% and London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.5%. Britain's GDP shrank by 9.6% year-over-year in the third quarter, versus a 21.5% contraction in the prior three-month period. However, the country’s industrial production rose 0.5% in September.

Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.68%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.11%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.22% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.5%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded lower by 0.5%. Producer prices in Japan fell 2.1% year-on-year in October versus a 0.8% drop in September.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at KeyBanc upgraded Steven Madden, Ltd. SHOO from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced a $36 price target.

Steven Madden shares fell 2.4% to close at $28.00 on Wednesday.

Breaking News

• Fossil Group Inc FOSL reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter on Wednesday.
• Boeing Co BA has revised its forecast for the number of planes Chinese airlines will need through 2039 by 6.3% to 8,600 from the previous estimate of 8,090, Reuters reported Wednesday.
• Hillenbrand, Inc. HI reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter. The company also said it expects Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.65 to $0.75 per share.
• Sony Corporation’s SNE PlayStation5, which is only available online, has sold out on major sites in Japan after the company launched the console Thursday, Reuters reported.