Judging from the direction of the U.S. stock futures, Wall Street could be set for a lower opening today. Moreover, U.S. market is likely to mirror the sentiment that gripped its mixed or rather weak European and Asian counterparts.
Stock Futures Hint to lower opening
Ahead of the opening, S&P 500 Futures were down by 0.34% or 6.50 points to 1,923.75 while Nasdaq Futures slipped 0.34% or 14.50 points to 4,248.75. The U.S. markets had closed the last session of the previous month steeply higher after the Bank of Japan had announced a negative interest rate cut.
The sentiment around the globe was hit by the weak Chinese factory activity and slide in oil prices. The official data in China showed that its manufacturing activity declined to a record low of 49.4 in January compared to 49.7 in December. This led Britain’s FTSE to shed nearly 0.40% to 6,060.49 while both France and Germany’s CAC 40 and DAX too have lost close to 0.55% respectively. Shanghai SE Composite Index dropped by 1.78% to 2,688.85 following the release of the data.
Oil And Alphabet
Apart from this, a statement from OPEC has nearly erased hopes of any near-term action on oil glut, sending the oil prices back into negative territory. Later in the day, the market participants will be looking forward to Manufacturing Activity report for January to be published by the U.S. Institute of Supply Management. As per the market estimates, the numbers could drop by 0.2 points to 48 in January, reflecting the lowest levels since July 2009. Also, U.S. inflation numbers alongside the Federal Reserve Speech will be among key updates to release today.
Additionally, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s fourth-quarter earnings to be reported as Alphabet for the first time will come after the closing bell and will be a major development for the markets today.