US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Economic Data

US stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade. Crude oil futures fell 1.92% to trade at $49.08 a barrel. The Markit PMI services flash index for December will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the ISM non-manufacturing index for December and factory orders data for November will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 15 points to 17,465.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 2.20 points to 2,018.10. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 1.25 points to 4,163.00.

European markets were mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.12%, STOXX Europe 600 Index falling 0.08% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.55%. French CAC 40 Index gained 0.22% and London's FTSE 100 Index fell 0.66%. French consumer confidence climbed to 90 in December, versus 88 in November. Eurozone's composite PMI jumped to 51.4 in December, versus 51.1 in November. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropped 3.02%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.99%, China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.03% and India's Sensex slipped 3.07%. The HSBC China services PMI surged to 53.4 in December, versus 53.0 in November.

Analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded

from Outperform to Neutral. The price target for Michael Kors has been lowered from $103 to $79. Michael Kors' shares slipped 1.10% to $72.20 in pre-market trading.