US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Jobless Claims, Retail Sales Data - Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures fell in early pre-market trade, ahead of jobless claims data. Data on weekly jobless claims and retail sales for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on business inventories for December will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 59 points to 15,884.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 7.60 points to 1,809.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index dropped 15 points to 3,609.50.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.91%, London's FTSE 100 index dropping 0.65% and STOXX Europe 600 Index slipping 0.65%. German DAX 30 index fell 0.29% and French CAC 40 Index declined 0.33%. Asian markets ended lower today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average tumbled 1.79%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.54%, China's Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.55% and India's BSE Sensex tumbled 1.25%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Jefferies downgraded Lorillard

from “buy” to “hold.” The price target for Lorillard has been lowered from $54 to $51. Lorillard's shares closed at $47.47 yesterday.

Breaking news

WABCO Holdings WBC today announced that it has acquired Transics International NV, a market leader in Europe of fleet management solutions headquartered in Ypres, Belgium. To read the full news, click here.
Comcast Corporation CMCSA and Time Warner Cable TWC today announced that their Boards of Directors have approved a definitive agreement for Time Warner Cable to merge with Comcast. To read the full news, click here.
The Carlyle Group CG announced today that Jackie Roberts will join the firm as Chief Sustainability Officer, a newly created position. Ms. Roberts comes to Carlyle from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), where she was a Senior Director of the Idea Bank for the US Climate and Energy Program. To read the full news, click here.
Avon Products AVP reported a narrower fourth-quarter loss. Avon posted a quarterly loss of $69.1 million, or $0.16 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $162.2 million, or $0.37 per share. On an adjusted basis, it earned $0.34 per share. To read the full news, click here.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs