Pre-open movers
U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade on Friday after closing lower in the previous session. The Dow Jones dropped by 90 points on Thursday. US initial jobless claims declined by 12,000 to 214,000 in the week ending October 15th, compared to market estimates of 230,000.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams is set to speak at 9:10 a.m. ET.
Investors are awaiting earnings results from American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) and HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA).
Check out this: Volatility In Markets Decreases, Dow Drops Around 90 Points
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 147 points to 30,206.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures slipped 24.75 points to 3,650.50. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 109.75 points to 10,981.00.
Commodities
Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.9% to trade at $91.51 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.1% to trade at $83.58 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Gold futures fell 0.7% to trade at $1,625.70 an ounce, while silver traded down 2% at $18.32 an ounce on Friday.
A Peek Into Global Markets
Europe Markets
European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 1.6%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.9% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 2.1%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 1.7%, while German DAX fell 1.7%.
Retail sales in the UK fell 1.4% month-over-month in September versus a revised 1.8% drop in the previous month, while GfK Consumer Confidence indicator in the country increased to - 47 in October.
Asia-Pacific Markets
Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.43%, China’s Composite Index rose 0.13%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.42%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.8%, while India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.1%.
The business confidence indicator in Hong Kong fell to 4 in the fourth quarter versus a reading of 6 in the prior period. The annual inflation rate in Japan was unchanged at 3.0% in September.
Broker Recommendation
Raymond James upgraded Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) from Outperform to Strong Buy and raised the price target from $36 to $37.
Juniper shares rose 1.3% to $27.98 in pre-market trading.
Check out this: Fear Among US Investors Is Decreasing, Here's Why
Breaking News
- Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) reported its slowest sales growth since going public. Snap announced a $500-million buyback Thursday along with its financial results. The company said due to the “operating environment” it will not provide guidance on revenue or adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter.
- The U.S. is reportedly discussing the possibility of subjecting Elon Musk’s companies to national security reviews. U.S. government and intelligence officials are weighing in on the possibility of using tools to review Musk’s multiple ventures and the talks are still at an early stage, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
- CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) posted better-than-expected results for its third quarter.
- The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) posted upbeat earnings and sales results for its third quarter.
