Stocks Retreat Amid Rising COVID-19 Cases

COVID-19 Is Back Into Spotlight

S&P 500 futures are moving lower in premarket trading as traders turn their attention to the recent increase in the number of new coronavirus cases in the U.S.

The number of daily new cases, which has briefly dipped below the 10,000 mark, has recently exceeded 35,000, driven by the more contagious Delta variant of coronavirus.

It remains to be seen whether traders are worried about the potential impact of rising coronavirus cases, or they are simply using them as an excuse to take some profits off the table near record highs.

WTI Oil Dips Below $72 As UAE Says That Compromise Deal Was Not Reached

WTI oil gained strong downside momentum after UAE stated that it did not reach an agreement with OPEC+ on the extension of the production cut deal.

Yesterday, Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia and UAE managed to find consensus. This report provided temporary support to the oil market, but oil quickly moved lower when UAE stated that no deal was reached.

Traders are worried that other OPEC+ members, like Iraq, may also ask for higher production quotas. This scenario may lead to the collapse of the deal, which will be bearish for the oil market.

Meanwhile, OPEC has reiterated its global oil demand forecast at 96.58 million barrels per day (bpd). In 2022, oil demand is projected to increase to 99.86 million bpd.

Initial Jobless Claims Declined To 360,000

U.S. has just released Initial Jobless Claims and Continuing Jobless Claims reports.

Initial Jobless Claims report indicated that 360,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits in a week, in line with the analyst consensus. Continuing Jobless Claims decreased from 3.37 million (revised from 3.34 million) to 3.24 million compared to analyst consensus of 3.31 million.

Today, traders will also have a chance to take a look at the latest Industrial Production and Manufacturing Production data. Analysts expect that Industrial Production increased by 0.6% month-over-month in June after growing by 0.8% in May. Manufacturing Production is projected to increase by 0.2%.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.