What you need to know before the US open
US stocks futures suggest a lower open for markets today, following the sharp sell-off seen yesterday and other global equities trading in the red today.
The S&P 500 has been in negative territory for three days in a row; today would be the fourth.
It’s also the start of earnings season in the US, with Alcoa, the third largest producer of aluminium in the world, reporting after markets close.
Results are expected to be affected by the severe weather the country’s seen, with investors hoping for better second quarter results.
Corporate news
Gigamon, which develops network traffic management software, crashed almost 25 per cent in premarket trading after reporting lower-than-expected first-quarter revenue.
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company has been ordered by a US court to pay $6bn in punitive damages, along with Eli Lilly which has been ordered to pay $3bn, over claims that cancer risks linked to diabetes drug Actos were concealed.
Data in focus
• 3.00pm: UK March NIESR GDP estimate
• Speeches in the US from the Fed’s Charles Plosser and Naranya Kocherlakota