A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Mostly Flat; All Eyes On Jobs Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade. Data on nonfarm payrolls and unemployment rate for June will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 5 points to 21,275.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 1 point to 2,409.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 1 point to 5,597.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 2.45 percent to trade at $46.93 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 2.55 percent to trade at $44.36 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET, while 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 0.38 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.32 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.21 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.12 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.34 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.32 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.49 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.17 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.03 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Jefferies upgraded Advance Auto Parts, Inc. AAP from Hold to Buy.

Advance Auto Parts shares fell 0.08 percent to $103.08 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• QUALCOMM, Inc. QCOM reported that it has filed patent infringement complaints against Apple Inc. AAPL with the U.S. International Trade Commission. Qualcomm alleged that Apple had illegally imported and sold iPhones violating at least one of six Qualcomm technology patents.



• Berkshire Hathaway Energy, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B), announced plans to acquire Oncor for $9 billion in cash.



• RadiSys Corporation RSYS lowered its sales forecast for the second quarter. The company now expects Q2 sales of $35 million, versus earlier outlook of $41 million to $47 million.



• Cherokee Inc CHKE reported a loss for its first quarter on Thursday. The company reported an adjusted loss of $0.07 per share, versus analysts’ estimates for a profit of $0.13 per share.