US Stock Futures Flat; Fed Minutes In Focus - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Hertz Global Holdings (NASDAQ:HTZ)

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Pre-open moversUS stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3 points to 16,878.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 0.50 points to 1,976.70. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 1 point to 4,035.25.

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A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.08%, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.03%. German DAX 30 index declined 0.26%, French CAC 40 Index fell 0.24% and London's FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.30%. German producer price index fell 0.1% on the month and 0.8% y/y in July.In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average jumped 0.03%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.15%, China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.23% and India's Sensex declined 0.40%. Japanese exports surged 3.9% in July, while imports climbed 2.3% y/y in the month.Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ) from Buy to Hold. The target price for Hertz Global has been lowered from $33 to $25. Hertz Global's shares fell 14.13% to $27.10 in pre-market trading.Breaking news

Shares of Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW) fell more than 4% in pre-market trading after the company cut its sales growth forecast for fiscal 2014. However, the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings. To read the full news, click here.
The J.M. Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM) reported weaker-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings. To read the full news, click here.
Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) reported better-than-expected second-quarter revenue. To read the full news, click here.
France's Iliad (OTC: ILIAY), which offered $33 per share for a 57% stake in T-Mobile on July 31, is reportedly in talks with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) regarding an increased bid, according to the NY Post. To read the full news, click here.