A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Down; Amazon Earnings Miss Views

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from several companies. Data on Gross Domestic Product growth for the second quarter and the employment cost index for the second quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari is set to speak in Oakdale, Minnesota at 1:20 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 22 points to 21,721, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 6.25 points to 2,465.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 35.25 points to 5,874.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.35 percent to trade at $51.67 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.06 percent to trade at $49.07 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.58 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index slipping 0.93 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.56 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.65 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 1.11 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.60 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.56 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.11 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.23 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Imperial Capital downgraded Spirit Airlines Incorporated SAVE from Outperform to In-Line.

Spirit Airlines shares fell 17.97 percent to close at $40.07 on Thursday.

Breaking news

• Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its second quarter, while sales exceeded estimates.



• Merck & Co., Inc. MRK posted upbeat earnings for its second quarter on Friday.



• Intel Corporation INTC posted upbeat earnings for its second quarter and raised its full-year outlook.



• Starbucks Corporation SBUX reported in-line earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed estimates.