A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Flat Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade. Data on motor vehicle sales for November will be released today. The Challenger job-cut report for November is schedule for release at 7:30 a.m. ET, while data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The manufacturing PMI for November is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. The ISM manufacturing index for November and construction spending data for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester is set to speak in Washington, D.C. at 8:30 a.m. ET, while Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan will speak in San Antonio, Texas at 9:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1 point to 19,133.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures dropped 2 points to 2,196.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 7 points to 4,809.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.16 percent to trade at $52.44 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also climbed 0.85 percent to trade at $49.86 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.46 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.49 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.71 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 1.10 percent, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.59 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.12 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.39 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.72 percent and India’s BSE Sensex dropped 0.35 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded BP plc (ADR) BP from Neutral to Outperform.

BP shares rose 1.51 percent to $35.54 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Guess?, Inc. GES reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its third quarter on Wednesday.



• La-Z-Boy Inc. LZB reported upbeat earnings for its fiscal second quarter and raised its dividend by 10 percent.



• PVH Corp PVH reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter, but issued a weak forecast for the holiday quarter.



• Parker-Hannifin Corp PH announced plans to buy CLARCOR Inc. CLC in a $4.3 billion deal.