Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) and Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC). Data on retail sales for March and Empire State’s manufacturing index for April will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on industrial production for March will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET. Data on business inventories for February and housing market index for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 1:00 p.m. ET, while the Federal Open Market Committee will release its latest Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET.

The U.S. is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic with the highest number of cases and deaths around the world. Total COVID-19 cases in the U.S. exceeded 609,500 with around 26,050 deaths. Spain confirmed a total of over 174,060 cases, while Italy reported a total of at least 162,480 confirmed cases.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 423 points to 23,457 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 54.6 points to 2,788.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 126.25 points to 8,566.25.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 3.3% to trade at $28.61 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 2.2% to trade at $19.66 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 2.4%, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 1.7% and German DAX 30 index dropping 1.9%. The UK’s FTSE index was trading lower by 2.2%, while French CAC 40 Index fell 1.8%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.45%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.19%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.57% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.7%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Stifel downgraded Covanta Holding Corp (NYSE: CVA) from Buy to Sell and lowered the price target from $17.5 to $6.5.

Covanta shares fell 16.1% to $7.35 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• President Donald Trump has put an end to the $400-500 million funding the United States provides to the World Health Organization, pending further reviews.
• J B Hunt Transport Services Inc (NASDAQ: JBHT) reported downbeat earnings for its first quarter, while sales exceeded views.
• Tesla Inc’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) China registrations surged to 12,709 units in March from 2,314 units in February, Reuters reported.
• Teladoc Health Inc (NYSE: TDOC) reported strong preliminary sales for its first quarter.