US Stock Futures Slip Ahead Of Auto Sales Data

Pre-open movers US stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Data on motor vehicle sales will be released today. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 37 points to 17,686.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 4.70 points to 2,041.60. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 8.25 points to 4,206.00. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.87%, STOXX Europe 600 Index falling 0.21% and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.36%. French CAC 40 Index declined 0.72% and London's FTSE 100 Index fell 0.64%. Spain's jobless claims fell by 64,405 to 4.45 million in December, versus November. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropped 0.24%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.57%, China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped 3.58% and India's Sensex slipped 0.16%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Janney Capital downgraded Starbucks Corporation SBUX from Buy to Neutral. The price target for Starbucks has been lowered from $90 to $85. Starbucks' shares fell 1.01% to $80.60 in pre-market trading. Breaking news

• Stereotaxis, Inc. STXS announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Vdrive® with V-CAS™ Catheter Advancement System in the U.S., representing the Company's third Vdrive system product to be cleared for market entry. To read the full news, click here.
• Amazon.com Inc. AMZN today announced that sellers on Amazon sold a record-setting more than 2 billion items worldwide in 2014. To read the full news, click here.
• Sunshine Heart, Inc. SSH announced today the appointment of Claudia Drayton as its Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Drayton, who was formerly Chief Financial Officer and Senior Finance Director for Medtronic Inc.'s Integrated Health Solutions Business, replaces Jeff Mathiesen, who will provide consulting services to the Company through the first half of 2015. To read the full news, click here.
• Ingersoll-Rand plc IR announced today it has completed the acquisition of the assets of Cameron International Corporation's CAM Centrifugal Compression division. To read the full news, click here.