A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mostly Flat Ahead Of Inflation Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from several companies. The Consumer Price Index for April and data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The U.S. Treasury budget report for April will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 13 points to 24,489.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 1.25 points to 2,697.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 6 points to 6,902.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.16 percent to trade at $77.33 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.48 percent to trade at $71.48 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.16 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.23 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.29 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.02 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.13 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.39 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.89 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.48 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.21 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Susquehanna upgraded Wolverine World Wide, Inc. WWW from Negative to Neutral.

Wolverine shares rose 7.21 percent to close at $31.95 on Wednesday.

Breaking news

• AMC Networks Inc. AMCX reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter.



• Magna International Inc. (USA) MGA reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.



• Synaptics, Incorporated SYNA reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed estimates.



• Booking Holdings Inc BKNG reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter.