A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Economic Reports

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Data on personal income and consumer spending for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Chicago PMI for Match is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for March will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari is set to speak in Minneapolis, Minn. at 10:00 a.m. ET, while St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard will speak in New York at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 32 points to 20,628.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 5.25 points to 2,359.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 7.25 points to 5,430.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures declined 0.66 percent to trade at $52.61 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.38 percent to trade at $50.16 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the recent week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.30 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.22 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.05 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.51 percent, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.20 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.81 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.78 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.38 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.09 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Wedbush upgraded Owens Corning OC from Neutral to Outperform and raised the price target from $58.00 to $72.00.

Owens-Corning shares rose 0.08 percent to close at $60.99 on Thursday.

Breaking news

• BlackBerry Ltd BBRY reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Friday.



• Akari Therapeutics PLC (ADR) AKTX disclosed that the FDA has granted Fast Track designation for Coversin.



• TRC TRR agreed to be acquired New Mountain Partners IV, L.P. in a deal valued at $17.55 per share.



• DarioHealth Corp DRIO reported a shelf offering of common stock.