US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Consumer Credit Data

Pre-open movers US stock futures dropped in early pre-market trade, ahead of consumer credit data. Data on consumer credit for June will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET. Fed's Sandra Pinalto is set to speak today. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 53 points to 15,421.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 5.50 points to 1,688.40. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index dropped 7.75 points to 3,110.25. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index tumbling 0.18%, London's FTSE 100 index dropping 0.97% and STOXX Europe 600 Index falling 0.28%. German DAX 30 index declined 0.55% and French CAC 40 Index fell 0.09%. Spanish 10-year government bond yields increased 2 basis points to 4.59%, while Italian 10-year government bond yields gained 1 to 4.26%. Asian markets ended lower today. China's Shanghai Composite tumbled 0.67%, while Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 4%. Australia's ASX/S&P500 dropped 1.80%, India's Sensex dipped 0.36% and Hong Kong's Heng Seng Index tumbled 1.53%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Bank of America upgraded Yum! Brands YUM from “underperform” to “neutral.” The target price for Yum! Brands has been raised from $60 to $69. Yum! Brands shares closed at $74.00 yesterday. Breaking news

• Time Warner TWX reported a rise in its second-quarter profit. Time Warner's quarterly profit surged to $771 million, or $0.81 per share, from $413 million, or $0.42 per share, in the year-ago period. Its adjusted earnings came in at $0.83 per share. To read the full news, click here.
• NICE Systems NICE today announced that it has entered an agreement to acquire Causata, a provider of real-time Big Data analytics technology. To read the full news, click here.
• Two companies that share the same founders and a rich history, Wells Fargo WFC and American Express AXP, announced today a new chapter of partnership that will see Wells Fargo issuing new credit cards accepted on the American Express network. To read the full news, click here.
• Valeant Pharmaceuticals International VRX reported a profit in the second quarter and lifted its full-year profit forecast. Valeant posted a quarterly profit of $10.9 million, or $0.03 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $21.6 million, or $0.07 per share. To read the full news, click here.