US Stock Futures Flat; ADP Report In Focus

Pre-open movers US stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade. The ADP national employment report for November will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET, while nonfarm business productivity data for the third quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. US Services Purchasing Managers' Index for November will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the ISM non-manufacturing index for November will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Federal Reserve will release its latest Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1 point to 17,861.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 0.10 points to 2,065.80. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 0.75 points to 4,306.25. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.80%, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.43%. German DAX 30 index rose 0.17%, French CAC 40 Index fell 0.06% and London's FTSE 100 Index dipped 0.18%. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.32%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.95%, China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped 0.58% and India's Sensex declined 1.30 points. China's official nonmanufacturing PMI surged to 53.9 in November versus 53.8 in October, while the HSBC China services PMI gained to 53.0 in November from 52.9 in October. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded J.C. Penney Company JCP from Neutral to Sell. The price target for J.C. Penney is set to $5.50. J.C. Penney's shares closed at $7.39 yesterday. Breaking news

• Magellan Petroleum MPET today announced that it has, through an affiliated entity, acquired an option to acquire a large CO2 reservoir called Farnham Dome located in Carbon County, Utah. To read the full news, click here.
• CytRx CYTR today announced that the Company has received written notice from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that its clinical trials for aldoxorubicin have been placed on partial clinical hold. To read the full news, click here.
• Cliffs Natural Resources CLF announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Logan County Coal assets in southern West Virginia to Coronado Coal II LLC for US$175 million in cash and the assumption of certain liabilities.To read the full news, click here.
• Leidos Holdings LDOS reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter. To read the full news, click here.