US Stock Futures Drop; Costco Posts Downbeat Profit

US stock futures declined in early pre-market trade. The US Treasury monthly budget report for November will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 14 points to 15,964.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 1.80 points to 1,801.30. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index dropped 4.75 points to 3,511.25.

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.48%, London's FTSE 100 index gaining 0.24% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.25%. German DAX 30 index gained 0.23% and French CAC 40 Index rose 0.67%. Asian markets ended lower today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declined 0.62%, China's Shanghai Composite dropped 1.49%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.71% and India's BSE Sensex tumbled 0.39%. Japan's core machinery orders climbed 0.6% in October versus the earlier month.

Analysts at Deutsche Bank upgraded ITC Holdings

from “hold” to “buy.” The target price for ITC Holdings has been raised from $95 to $104. ITC's shares closed at $93.30 yesterday.