A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Mostly Lower Ahead Of Treasury Budget Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly lower in early pre-market trade. The MBA's Index of Mortgage Application Activity for the latest week is schedule for release at 7:00 a.m. ET. Data on import and export prices for March will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Treasury will auction 10-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET. The U.S. Treasury budget data for March is scheduled for release at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 6.72 points to 20,661.30, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 3.38 points to 2,353.78. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index also declined 14.15 points to 5,866.77.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 0.64 percent to trade at 56.59 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.56 percent to trade at $54.09 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration's weekly report on petroleum inventories is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly up today, although the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.15 percent. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.29 percent, the German DAX 30 index gained 0.15 percent and the UK's FTSE index traded up by 0.11 percent. The French CAC 40 Index gained 0.19 percent.

In the Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declined 1.04 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.93 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.46 percent and India's BSE Sensex dropped 0.49 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Susquehanna upgraded PepsiCo, Inc. PEP from Neutral to Positive, while raising the price target from $118 to $132.

PepsiCo shares declined 0.26 percent to close at $111.73 on Tuesday.

Breaking news

• DHI Group Inc DHX announced that it has completed its exploration of strategic alternatives and has decided to continue to operate as an independent company.
• Shaw Communications Inc (USA) SJR announced that Alek Krstajjic was stepping down from his position as CEO of the company of Freedom Mobile, while Paul Acaleese was joining Freedom Mobile as the Chief Operating Officer.
• Fastenal Company FAST posted 6.1 percent year on year increase in revenue for the first quarter to $1.05 billion.
• Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL reported a 36 percent year on year decline in its net income for the first quarter to $603 million. Earnings also declined to $0.82 per share from $1.21 a year ago.