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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly lower in early pre-market trade. US Services Purchasing Managers' Index for February is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the ISM non-manufacturing index for February will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Randal Quarles is set to speak in Washington, DC at 1:15 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 58 points to 24,477.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 5.95 points to 2,684.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 6 points to 6,810.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.03 percent to trade at $64.39 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.21 percent to trade at $61.38 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.44 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.56 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.57 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.20 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.28 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.66 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 2.28 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.07 percent and India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.40 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded Groupon Inc GRPN from Underweight to Equal-Weight.

Groupon shares rose 1.17 percent to $4.32 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• AXA announced plans to acquire XL Group Ltd. XL for $57.60 per share in cash.
• Nuverra Environmental Solutions, Inc. NES reported the departure of its Chairman and CEO, Mark. D. Johnsrud. The company named Charles K. Thompson as Interim CEO.
• Harte Hanks Inc HHS agreed to sell its 3Q Digital business for $5 million.
• Corindus Vascular Robotics Inc CVRS disclosed that it has received the FDA clearance for the first automated robotic movement in technIQ Series for CorPath GRX platform.