A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ANF and Buckle Inc BKE. Data on housing starts for October will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while report on e-commerce retail sales for the third quarter is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for November will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET. San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams is set to speak in Berkeley, California at 12:45 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 28 points to 23,396.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures declined 3 points to 2,582.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 1.25 points to 6,339.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.06 percent to trade at $62.01 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 1.49 percent to trade at $55.96 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 higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.37 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.21 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.05 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.09 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.04 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.20 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.62 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.48 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.71 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at RBC Capital upgraded L Brands Inc LB from Sector Perform to Outperform.

L Brands shares rose 1.10 percent to $49.66 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Hibbett Sports, Inc. HIBB reported better-than-expected profit for its third quarter and raised its FY 2018 guidance.



• Gap Inc GPS posted stronger-than-expected earnings for its third quarter and increased its FY17 guidance.



• Splunk Inc SPLK reported upbeat results for its third quarter and raised its FY18 sales outlook.



• Shoe Carnival, Inc. SCVL reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter.