A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Economic Reports

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Data on retail sales for April and the Empire State manufacturing index for May will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on business inventories for May and the housing market index for May will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan is set to speak at 8:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams will speak at 1:10 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 44 points to 24,842.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures slipped 3 points to 2,727.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 10.50 points to 6,962.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.96 percent to trade at $78.98 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.69 percent to trade at $71.45 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.40 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.04 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.13 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.29 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.06 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.21 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 1.23 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.57 percent and India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.04 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Jefferies upgraded Symantec Corporation SYMC from Underperform to Hold.

Symantec shares rose 1.78 percent to $21.78 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Home Depot Inc HD reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, while sales missed estimates.



• Switch Inc SWCH reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter on Monday.



• Famous Dave’s of America, Inc. DAVE reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter on Monday.



• Pfenex Inc PFNX shares surged over 25 percent in after-hours trading after the company announced the positive top-line PF708 study results in Osteoporosis patients that showed no imbalances in severity or incidence of adverse events.