US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Earnings

Pre-open movers

US stock futures dropped in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT). The import price index will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the FHFA home-price index will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 77 points to 15,321.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 10.60 points to 1,738.80. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 21.25 points to 3,335.25.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 1.92%, London's FTSE 100 index dropping 0.48% and STOXX Europe 600 Index falling 0.73%. German DAX 30 index fell 0.45% and French CAC 40 Index declined 0.94%. French business sentiment climbed to 98 in October, versus 97 in September.

Asian markets ended lower today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average tumbled 1.95%, China's Shanghai Composite fell 1.25% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 1.36%. Australia's ASX/S&P500 fell 0.27% and India's Sensex declined 0.47%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Bank of America downgraded Coach (NYSE: COH) from “buy” to “neutral.” The target price for Coach has been lowered from $63 to $54. Coach's shares closed at $50.10 yesterday.

Breaking news

• WellPoint (NYSE: WLP) reported a 5.1% drop in its third-quarter earnings. WellPoint's quarterly profit fell to $656.2 million, from $691.2 million, in the year-ago period. To read the full news, click here.
• Main Street Capital (NYSE: MAIN) announced today that it recently closed a new portfolio investment totaling $9.2 million of invested capital in Glowpoint (NYSE: GLOW). To read the full news, click here.
• Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE: LLY) reported a 9.3% drop in its third-quarter earnings. Eli Lilly now expects full-year adjusted earnings of $4.10 to $4.15 per share. To read the full news, click here.
• Sabre announced today that Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR), a leading lodging company with more than 3,800 properties across the broadest portfolio of brands in the lodging industry, has signed a long-term distribution agreement extension. To read the full news, click here.