US Stock Futures Slip Ahead Of Wal-Mart Earnings - Home Depot (NYSE:HD)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. WMT

. Data on housing starts for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 29.5 points to 17,474.5, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 3.60 points to 2,095.65. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 9.05 points to 4,555.70.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.14 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.17 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.01 percent. French CAC 40 Index declined 0.22 percent and London's FTSE 100 Index fell 0.58 percent. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.32 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 1.43 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped 6.15 percent and India's BSE Sensex fell 0.17 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus downgraded

SFX Entertainment IncSFXE

from Hold to Sell. SFX Entertainment shares fell 4.32 percent to close at $1.33 yesterday.

Breaking news

Home Depot Inc HD reported in-line earnings for the second quarter and lifted its outlook for the year. To read the full news, click here.
OncoSec Medical Incorporated ONCS today announced enrollment of the first patient into the Phase II Investigator Sponsored Trial led by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to assess the anti-tumor activity, safety, and tolerability of the combination of OncoSec's investigational therapy, ImmunoPulse™ IL-12, and Merck's approved anti-PD-1 agent, KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), in patients with unresectable metastatic melanoma. To read the full news, click here.
BB&T Corporation BBT and National Penn Bancshares, Inc. NPBC announced Monday the signing of a definitive agreement under which BB&T will acquire National Penn in a cash and stock transaction for total consideration valued at approximately $1.8 billion. To read the full news, click here.
Integra Gold Corp. ICGQF announced that it has entered into a share purchase agreement with Eldorado Gold Corporation whereby Eldorado will make a $14.6 million strategic investment in Integra by way of a non-brokered private placement of common shares of Integra. To read the full news, click here.

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