A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of Jobless Claims Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade. Data on international trade in goods for November and initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 7 points to 19,768.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 0.30 points to 2,245. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 1.50 points to 4,922.25.

Brent crude futures gained 0.02 percent to trade at $56.23 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.46 percent to trade at $53.81 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET, while the EIA’s weekly report on petroleum inventories is schedule for release at 11:00 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.25 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.22 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.27 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.07 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.16 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.32 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.17 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.20 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.59 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Summit Redstone Partners initiated coverage on Texas Instruments Incorporated TXN with a Buy rating and a $84.00 price target.

Texas Instruments shares fell 1.10 percent to close at $74.05 on Tuesday.

Breaking news

• Shares of Fortress Biotech Inc FBIO jumped over 50 percent in pre-market trading after the company disclosed that a patient case study from the Phase 1 clinical trial of MB-101 for the treatment of glioblastoma will be published in the New England Journal of Medicine.



• AppDynamics, Inc. disclosed that it has filed for an initial public offering of up to $100 million. The company applied to list on the NASDAQ under the ticker “APPD.”



• Kate Spade & Co KATE is said to be considering a sale of the company, according to sources as reported by Dow Jones. The seller of woman's fashion accessories has hired an investment bank and has been in contact with potential buyers, which includes other retailers, the sources said.



• Main Street Capital Corporation MAIN agreed to sell Daseke, Inc. to Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. II HCAC. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.