US Stock Futures Signal Lower Start On Wall Street

US stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. The consumer price index for March will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for April and the Conference Board's index of leading indicators for March will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 164.50 points to 17,876.50, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 17.80 points to 2,082.95. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 50.95 points to 4,364.30.

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 1.56 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index falling 1.01 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 1.23 percent. French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.92 percent and London's FTSE 100 Index fell 0.23 percent. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.17 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.20 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.31 percent and India's BSE Sensex dipped 0.78 percent.

Analysts at Keefe Bruyette & Woods downgraded

from Outperform to Market Perform. The price target for Goldman Sachs has been raised from $195 to $210. Goldman Sachs shares closed at $200.21 yesterday.