US Stock Futures Mixed; Jobs Report In Focus

US stock futures were mixed in early pre-market trade, ahead of jobs data. Data on nonfarm payroll employment for August will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 12 points to 14,905.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 0.10 points to 1,653.10. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 3 points to 3,131.00.

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.18%, London's FTSE 100 index falling 0.13% and STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.10%. German DAX 30 index fell 0.22% and French CAC 40 Index declined 0.11%. German trade surplus narrowed to 14.5 billion euros ($19 billion) in July, from EUR15.8 billion in June. The country's exports of goods declined 1.1% in July, while imports rose 0.5%. French consumer sentiment increased to 84 in August, versus 82 in July. UK's trade deficit widened to 9.9 billion pounds ($15.45 billion) in July, from GBP8.2 billion in June. Asian markets ended mostly higher today. China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.83%, while Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.45%. Australia's ASX/S&P500 gained 0.11%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.10% and India's Sensex jumped 1.53%.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded E*TRADE Financial

from “neutral” to “buy.” The target price for E*TRADE Financial has been raised from $13.50 to $19. E*TRADE Financial's shares closed at $15.55 yesterday.