Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. The ADP employment report for March will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET, while the manufacturing PMI for March is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. The ISM manufacturing index for March and data on construction spending for February will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

The U.S. is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic with the highest number of cases around the world. The White House officials project the country's death toll from coronavirus to range between 100,000 and 240,000. Total COVID-19 cases in the U.S. exceeded 189,600 with around 4,000 deaths. Spain confirmed a total of over 95,900 cases, while Italy reported a total of at least 105,700 confirmed cases and 12,400 deaths. China reported 36 new cases on Tuesday.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA) dropped 590 points to 21,161 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 (SPY) index futures traded fell 68.70 points to 2,501.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index (QQQ) fell 176.75 points to 7,609.50.

OIL prices traded lower as Brent crude futures (BNO) fell 5.1% to trade at $25.02 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.2% to trade at $20.23 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration's weekly report on petroleum inventories 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 2.2%, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 2.9% and German DAX 30 index dropping 3.3%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 4%, while French CAC 40 Index fell 3.7%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei fell 4.5%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 2.19%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.57% and India’s BSE Sensex dropped 4.48%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded AT&T Inc. (T) from Overweight to Neutral.

AT&T shares fell 2.5% to $28.44 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• BlackBerry Ltd (BB) reported upbeat adjusted earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed estimates.
• Xerox Holdings Corporation (XRX) announced plans to not go ahead with its $30 billion hostile takeover bid for HP Inc. (HPQ), due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
• Verint Systems Inc. (VRNT) reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Tuesday.
• Hyperlocal weather information app DarkSky has been acquired by Apple Inc. (AAPL).