A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Slide Ahead Of Jerome Powell's Testimony

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Data on durable goods orders for January, international trade in goods for January and wholesale inventories for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index for December and the FHFA house price index for December will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for February will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak in Washington at 8:30 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will testify before the House of Representatives' Committee on Financial Services in Washington D.C. at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 53 points to 25,705.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 7.25 points to 2,777.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 17.75 points to 6,983.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.18 percent to trade at $67.38 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 0.38 percent to trade at $63.67 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.26 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.36 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.50 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.20 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.08 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.07 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.73 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.13 percent and India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.29 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Citigroup upgraded Stryker Corporation SYK from Sell to Neutral.

Stryker shares rose 0.14 percent to $166.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Tenet Healthcare Corp THC reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and raised its full-year forecast.



• Mallinckrodt PLC MNK reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter.



• Fitbit Inc FIT reported downbeat earnings for its fourth quarter. The company also issued weak first quarter and FY18 sales guidance.



• Tyme Technologies Inc TYME reported a 12 million share offering of common stock.