A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Jobless Claims, GDP Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Data on GDP for the fourth quarter and jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester is set to speak in Chicago, Ill. at 9:45 a.m. ET, while Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan will speak in Washington, D.C. at 11:00 a.m. ET. San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams is set to speak in New York at 11:15 a.m. ET, while New York Federal Reserve Bank of President William Dudley will speak in Sarasota, Florida at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 26 points to 20,575.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 3.25 points to 2,353.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 5.75 points to 5,430.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures declined 0.59 percent to trade at $52.11 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.26 percent to trade at $49.38 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.14 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.05 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.07 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.27 percent, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.06 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.80 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.37 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.96 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.39 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Citigroup downgraded Lululemon Athletica inc. LULU from Buy to Neutral.

Lululemon shares fell 19.41 percent to $53.43 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Lululemon Athletica inc. LULU reported downbeat earnings for its fourth quarter and issued a weak forecast for the current quarter.



• Titan Machinery Inc. TITN reported a wider-than-expected loss for its fourth quarter.



• Worthington Industries, Inc. WOR reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its third quarter.



• Blueprint Medicines Corp BPMC priced its 5 million share offering of common stock at $40 per share.