A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

US stock futures are lower this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 51 points to 11,989.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 6.70 points to 1,273.00. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 11.25 points to 2,334.75.

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 0.93%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.57%, French CAC 40 index fell 0.46% and German DAX 30 index dropped 0.58%. Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 1.2035%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 1.37% and China's Shanghai Composite declining 0.91%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.0674% and India's Sensex dipped 1.12%.

Analysts at Jefferies & Company downgraded Wal-Mart Stores Inc

from “buy” to “hold.” The target price for Wal-Mart has been lowered from $61 to $56. Wal-Mart shares fell 0.17% to $52.53 in after-hours trading.