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 nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs for the first quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while US Services Purchasing Managers' Index for May will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET. Data on factory orders for April, the ISM non-manufacturing index for May and the labor market conditions index for May will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 14 points to 21,189.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 1.75 points to 2,435.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 6 points to 5,880.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.46 percent to trade at $49.72 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.40 percent to trade at $47.47 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.55 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.14 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.25 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.28 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.58 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.03 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.24 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.45 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.12 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Pacific Crest downgraded Apple Inc. AAPL from Overweight to Sector Weight.

Apple shares fell 0.87 percent to $154.10 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Summit Hotel Properties Inc INN announced plans to acquire 5 hotels from Xenia Hotels & Resorts Inc XHR for $163 million.



• D.R. Horton, Inc. DHI proposed to buy 75 percent of Forestar Group Inc. FOR for $16.25 per share in cash.



• JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. JKS reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.



• Herbalife Ltd. HLF cut its sales forecast for the current quarter. Herbalife expects Q2 revenue to decline by 6 percent to 2 percent, and adjusted earnings of $0.95 to $1.15 per share.