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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade ahead of major earnings and economic data. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week, the Philadelphia Fed general conditions index for July and the Chicago Fed National Activity Index for June will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The FHFA house price index for May is schedule for release at 9:00 a.m. ET. Data on existing home sales for June and the index of leading indicators for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 22 points to 18,509.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 1.75 points to 2,165.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 0.25 points to 4,649.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.06 percent to trade at $47.14 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also dropped 0.28 percent to trade at $45.62 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.07 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.21 percent and German DAX 30 index declining 0.06 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.38 percent, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.24 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.77 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.54 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.37 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.74 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded F5 Networks, Inc. FFIV from Outperform to Neutral.

F5 Networks shares rose 0.72 percent to close at $121.47 on Wednesday.

Breaking news

• Galenica agreed to acquire Relypsa Inc RLYP for $1.53 billion in cash.



• QUALCOMM, Inc. QCOM reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter on Wednesday. The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.7 billion and operating income of $2.0 billion. To read the full news, click here.



• Komatsu Ltd. agreed to acquire Joy Global Inc. JOY for around $2.9 billion.



• eBay Inc EBAY posted upbeat earnings for its second quarter on Wednesday. Management also announced an extension of the company’s stock-repurchase plan, as the board had approved an additional $2.5 billion in buybacks. To read the full news, click here.