A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Mostly Lower; Apple Earnings In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly lower in early pre-market trade. Apple Inc. AAPL is set to release quarterly earnings after the closing bell. Data on motor vehicle sales April will be released today. The Federal Open Market Committee will begin two-day policy meeting today.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 14 points to 20,858.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures slipped 1.75 points to 2,385.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 4 points to 5,634.25.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures rose 1.01 percent to trade at $52.04 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.78 percent to trade at $49.22 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.65 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.34 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.17 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.45 percent, while French CAC 40 Index surged 0.40 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.70 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.33 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.35 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.01 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Macquarie downgraded Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD from Neutral to Underperform.

AMD shares fell 11.67 percent to $12.03 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Merck & Co., Inc. MRK reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.



• Coach Inc COH reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, but sales missed expectations.



• Pfizer Inc. PFE posted upbeat earnings for its first quarter on Tuesday.



• IAC/InterActiveCorp IAC reported a deal to combine its HomeAdvisor unit with Angie's List Inc ANGI.