A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Mostly Flat Ahead Of Trump Press Conference

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade. Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a press conference at 11:00 a.m. ET. New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley is set to speak in New York at 1:20 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 6 points to 19,794.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 1 point to 2,262.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 2.75 points to 5,033.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 0.35 percent to trade at $53.83 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also rose 0.35 percent to trade at $51.00 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.15 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.19 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.34 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.12 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.12 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.33 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.84 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.79 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.90 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded AT&T Inc. T from Buy to Hold and lowered the price target from $44.00 to $43.00.

AT&T shares fell 0.37 percent to $40.66 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc MSM reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter on Wednesday.



• Ford Motor Company F reported a special dividend of $0.05 per share and reconfirmed that its 2017 total pre-tax profit would be lower than 2016. However, the company projects improved profitability in 2018. Ford also expects $10.2 billion in pre-tax profit for 2016.



• Signet Jewelers Ltd. SIG lowered its profit and sales forecast for the full year.



• Veeco Instruments Inc. VECO issued a strong earnings forecast for FY16 and reported a public offering of $200 million of Convertible Senior Notes due 2023.