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

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. The Consumer Price Index for May, initial jobless claims for the latest week and current account data for the first quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The NAHB housing market index for June is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 67 points to 17,485.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 9.25 points to 2,054.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 21.75 points to 4,384.00. Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures dropped 1.43 percent to trade at $48.27 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also declined 1.46 percent to trade at $47.31 a barrel. The EIA's weekly report on natural gas stocks is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 1.14 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.96 percent and German DAX 30 index droppning 0.95 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.73 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.71 percent. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 3.05 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 2.10 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.50 percent and India's BSE Sensex declined 0.75 percent.

Analysts at Citi upgraded

from Neutral to Buy, while raising the price target from $38 to $43. Yahoo shares rose 0.35 percent to $37.45 in pre-market trading.