A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Edge Lower; Crude Oil Drops

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for February is schedule for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans is set to speak at 8:30 a.m. ET, while Charles Evans will then speak in New York at 1:10 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 19 points to 20,844.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 4.50 points to 2,370.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 4 points to 5,404.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures dropped 1.06 percent to trade at $51.21 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.24 percent to trade at $48.70 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.45 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.22 percent and German DAX 30 index falling 0.34 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.22 percent, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.41 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.35 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.79 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.41 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.44 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded Stifel Financial Corp SF from Buy to Neutral and raised the price target from $58.00 to $59.00.

Stifel Financial shares fell 2.04 percent to close at $52.90 on Friday.

Breaking news

• The Washington Companies proposed to acquire Dominion Diamond Corp DDC for US$13.50 per share in cash.



• Cerberus Capital Management-backed Albertsons Cos. has had preliminary merger talks with Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. SFM, according to sources as reported by Bloomberg on Sunday. The talks to take Sprouts private are at an early stage, the sources said.



• Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) VOD announced that it will merge its Indian unit with India’s Number 3 player Idea Cellular.



• Shares of Pulmatrix Inc PULM tumbled over 13 percent in pre-market trading after the company reported up to $11 million at-the-market sales agreement with BTIG on Friday.