A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Tumble Ahead Of Jobless Claims Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week, and import and export prices for September will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The U.S. Treasury budget data for September will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET. Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker is set to speak at 12:15 p.m. ET, while Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari will speak in Missoula at 9:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 102 points to 17,955.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures declined 12.25 points to 2,119.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 29.50 points to 4,785.50.

Oil prices traded mixed as Brent crude futures gained 0.04 percent to trade at $51.83 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 0.08 percent to trade at $50.60 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET, while the EIA’s weekly report on petroleum inventories is schedule for release at 11:00 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 1.26 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index falling 0.96 percent and German DAX 30 index declining 1.32 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.87 percent, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 1.35 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.39 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 1.61 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.09 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 1.56 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Bank of America upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. MRK from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $57.00 to $70.00.

Merck shares rose 1.31 percent to $62.47 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL disclosed better than expected earnings for the third quarter. On a year-over-year basis, profit fell 4.3 percent hurt by 6 percent drop on the top line. To read the full news, click here.



• Winnebago Industries, Inc. WGO reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Thursday.



• Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN needs to hire 120,000 new part-time workers across its entire network to ensure a flawless and efficient shopping experience ahead of the holiday season. According to a press release, the jobs will be spread out across its fulfillment centers, sortation centers and customer service cites. To read the full news, click here.



• CSX Corporation CSX reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its third quarter on Wednesday.