A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Mostly Flat; All Eyes On Jobs Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade. Data on nonfarm payrolls and unemployment rate for September will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on wholesale trade inventories for August will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Data on consumer credit for August will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic is set to speak in Austin at 9:15 a.m. ET, while New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley will speak in New York at 12:15 p.m. ET. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan is set to speak in Austin at 12:45 p.m. ET, while St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard will speak in St. Louis at 1:50 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 9 points to 22,731, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 1 point to 2,549.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 2.75 points to 6,068.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.44 percent to trade at $56.75 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures declined 0.95 percent to trade at $50.31 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 mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.73 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.21 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.09 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.20 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.18 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.30 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.28 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.28 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.70 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA from Overweight to Equal-Weight.

Walgreens shares fell 1.88 percent to $75.50 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Uniqure NV QURE disclosed that it has been granted Orphan Drug Designation for AMT-130 by the FDA.



• Costco Wholesale Corporation COST reported better-than-expected profit for its fourth quarter on Thursday.



• Omega Protein Corporation OME agreed to be acquired for $22 per share by Cooke.



• Yum China Holdings Inc YUMC reported a 10 percent rise in its third-quarter net income, while same-store sales gained 6 percent for the quarter. The company also disclosed that its CEO Micky Pant would step down.