Pre-Market Insights:
In the early stages of pre-market trading, U.S. stock futures exhibited mixed signals following a gain of approximately 175 points in the Dow Jones during the prior session. The Federal Open Market Committee commences its two-day policy meeting today, with investors eagerly anticipating earnings reports from Jabil Inc (NYSE: JBL), Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN), and Designer Brands Inc (NYSE: DBI).
Scheduled economic data releases include retail sales, import and export prices for February at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by industrial production data for February at 9:15 a.m. ET. Additionally, business inventories for January and the housing market index for March are set to be disclosed at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dipped 46 points to 32,911.00, while Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures decreased by 0.25 points to 3,967.25. Conversely, Nasdaq 100 index futures rose by 51 points to 13,129.50.
The United States continues to grapple with the highest number of COVID-19 cases and fatalities globally, surpassing 29,495,420 infections and approximately 535,620 deaths. Meanwhile, Brazil confirmed over 11,519,600 cases, and India reported at least 11,409,830 confirmed cases.
Breaking News:
- Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) announced plans to reduce 10,000 jobs over the next two years to streamline costs, according to Reuters.
- MP3 Ringtones 888 Plus Inc (NYSE: MRD) reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter and projected FY21 sales growth of 75%-80%. Read More: https://mp3ringtonesdownload.net
- Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA) initiated testing of the next generation of its COVID-19 vaccine.
- Option Care Health Inc (NASDAQ: OPCH) disclosed a 12 million share common stock offering via selling shareholders.
Oil Market Update:
Oil prices experienced a downturn as Brent crude futures decreased by 1.7% to trade at $67.73 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell by 1.7% to $64.29 a barrel. The American Petroleum Institute (API) is scheduled to release its weekly report on crude inventories later in the day.
Global Market Snapshot:
European markets demonstrated upward momentum, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising by 0.6% and the STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing by 0.5%. Similarly, the French CAC 40 Index and German DAX 30 recorded gains of 0.1% and 0.6%, respectively, while London’s FTSE 100 increased by 0.5%. Economic sentiment indicators for the Eurozone and Germany displayed positive trends in March, with the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment rising to 74 and 76.6, respectively. Additionally, France’s consumer price inflation rate was revised higher to 0.6% year-over-year in February.
In Asia, most markets traded higher, with Japan’s Nikkei 225, China’s Shanghai Composite, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index recording gains of 0.52%, 0.78%, and 0.67%, respectively. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 surged by 0.8%, while India’s BSE Sensex experienced a minor decline of 0.1%. Notable economic indicators included an increase in Japan’s industrial output by 4.3% in January and a rise of 3.0% in Australia’s house price index for the three months ending December.
Broker Recommendation:
Jefferies upgraded AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ: AZN) from Hold to Buy, resulting in a 2.1% rise in AstraZeneca shares to $49.80 in pre-market trading.
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