A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Signal Lower Start On Wall Street; Dow Futures Down 160 Points

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings reports from several companies. New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley will speak in New York at 8:30 a.m. ET, while Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans is set to speak in Des Moines, Iowa at 11:15 a.m. ET. San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will speak in Hololulu, Hawaii at 5:20 p.m. ET. Data on consumer credit for December will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 160 points to 24,640.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 19.25 points to 2,675.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 55.25 points to 6,598.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.07 percent to trade at $66.81 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures slipped 0.22 percent to trade at $63.25 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.47 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.78 percent and German DAX 30 index climbing 0.74 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.72 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.67 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.16 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.89 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipped 1.82 percent and India’s BSE Sensex dropped 0.33 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at RBC Capital upgraded Snap Inc SNAP from Sector Perform to Outperform.

Snap shares rose 22 percent to $17.15 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp CTSH reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and issued a strong earnings forecast for the current quarter.



• Ball Corporation BLL reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.



• Humana Inc HUM reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share. The company also issued a strong earnings forecast for FY 2018.



• Hasbro, Inc. HAS reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed estimates.