A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Mostly Flat Ahead Of Wholesale Inventories Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade. The Labor Department's JOLTS report for November and wholesale inventories report for November will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1 point to 19,827.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 0.25 points to 2,265.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 1.50 points to 5,023.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 0.13 percent to trade at $55.01 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also rose 0.19 percent to trade at $52.06 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.65 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.04 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.20 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.49 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.04 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.79 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.83 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.30 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.65 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) VOD from Neutral to Buy.

Vodafone shares rose 1.21 percent to $25.89 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc VRX agreed to sell Dendreon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to Sanpower Group for $819.9 million in cash. The company also agreed to sell its CeraVe, AcneFree, AMBI skincare brands to L'Oreal for $1.3 billion.



• Ascena Retail Group Inc ASNA issued a weak earnings forecast for second quarter and FY 2017.



• WD-40 Company WDFC reported weaker-than-expected profit for its first quarter on Monday.



• Barracuda Networks Inc CUDA reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter on Monday.