US Stock Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of Economic Data - Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade, ahead of economic data and earnings reports. The Markit PMI services index (flash) for July will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the pending home sales index for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Dallas Fed general business activity index for July will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 8 points to 16,883.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 1.20 points to 1,970.20. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 0.25 points to 3,955.25.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.08%, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.02%. German DAX 30 index declined 0.13%, French CAC 40 Index gained 0.40% and London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.14%. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.46%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 0.88%, China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.41% and India's BSE Sensex fell 0.52%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded Xerox

XRX

from Underweight to Neutral. The target price for Xerox has been raised from $13 to $14. Xerox's shares gained 2.41% to close at $13.15 on Friday.

Breaking news

Tyson Foods TSN reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter net income and announced its plans to sell its Mexican and Brazilian chicken businesses for $575 million. To read the full news, click here.
Zions Bancorporation ZION announced today that it has commenced a public offering of $525 million of its common stock pursuant to a prospectus supplement dated July 28, 2014 to its prospectus dated April 21, 2014. To read the full news, click here.
Sohu.com SOHU posted a loss in the second quarter. The Chinese portal posted a quarterly loss of $45 million, or $1.16 per share, versus a loss of $69 million in the earlier quarter. Non-GAAP net loss came in at US$34 million, or US$0.88 loss per share. To read the full news, click here.
Dollar Tree DLTR and Family Dollar Stores FDO today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Dollar Tree will acquire Family Dollar in a cash and stock transaction. To read the full news, click here.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs