A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Mostly Flat; Alphabet Shares Drop On Earnings Miss

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade. Data on durable goods orders for December and Gross Domestic Product for the fourth quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for January is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3 points to 20,054.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 0.25 points to 2,293.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 6 points to 5,153.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures dropped 1 percent to trade at $55.68 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 0.67 percent to trade at $53.42 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.51 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.47 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.19 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.07 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.52 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.34 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.06 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.31 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.63 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded Intel Corporation INTC from Underweight to Equal-Weight.

Intel shares rose 1.17 percent to $38.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Shares of Alphabet Inc GOOGL dropped over 1 percent in pre-market trading after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter. However, quarterly sales exceeded expectations.



• Microsoft Corporation MSFT reported better-than-expected results for its fiscal second quarter on Thursday.



• American Airlines Group Inc AAL reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter.



• Intel Corporation INTC posted upbeat results for its fourth quarter on Thursday.