A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade. Data on U.S. international trade in goods for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index for January will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for March is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George is set to speak in Midwest City, Okla. at 12:45 p.m. ET, while Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Kaplan will speak in Dallas, Texas at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 24 points to 20,473.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 2 points to 2,336.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 1.25 points to 5,379.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 0.75 percent to trade at $51.13 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.84 percent to trade at $48.13 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 mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.30 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.21 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.59 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.01 percent, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.03 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.14 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.63 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.43 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.59 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded Commercial Metals Company CMC from Neutral to Outperform.

Commercial Metals shares fell 1.16 percent to close at $17.89 on Monday.

Breaking news

• FactSet Research Systems Inc. FDS reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, but sales misses estimates.



• Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter and raised its FY 2017 guidance. The company also announced plans to acquire Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen for $780 million.
• Tencent Holdings Ltd reported a 5 percent passive stake in Tesla Inc TSLA as of March 24, 2017.



• Red Hat Inc RHT reported in-line earnings or its fourth quarter, while sales exceeded expectations. The company also issued a strong forecast for FY 2017.