A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Decline Ahead OF Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Data on Gross Domestic Product, initial jobless claims and international trade in goods will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George is set to speak in Kansas City at 9:45 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 30 points to 22,268.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 3.25 point at 2,501.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 14 points to 5,926.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.71 percent to trade at $58.31 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.96 percent to trade at $52.64 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.22 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index slipping 0.05 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.32 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.22 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.06 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.47 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.80 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.17 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.39 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Citigroup downgraded Archer Daniels Midland Company ADM from Buy to Neutral.

Archer-Daniels Midland shares fell 2.90 percent to $41.8 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• BlackBerry Ltd BBRY reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter and reported signing of first BlackBerry secure licensing deal.



• Thor Industries, Inc. THO reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.



• McCormick & Company, Incorporated MKC reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter.



• Pier 1 Imports Inc PIR posted a narrower-than-expected loss for its second quarter. The company’s comparable sales rose 1.8 percent during the quarter.