A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Mostly Lower; All Eyes On Fed Decision

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly lower in early pre-market trade. The current account report for the fourth quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on existing home sales for February will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, while the Fed Chair will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2 points to 24,767.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 0.25 points to 2,723.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index dipped 25 points to 6,892.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.93 percent to trade at $68.05 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.88 percent to trade at $64.10 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.10 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.02 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.21 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.35 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.07 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.47 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.43 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.29 percent and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.42 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus upgraded FedEx Corporation FDX from Hold to Buy.

FedEx shares fell 0.52 percent to $250.87 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• General Mills, Inc. GIS reported upbeat results for its third quarter, but lowered its FY18 earnings forecast.



• FedEx Corporation FDX reported upbeat results for its third quarter and issued a strong earnings forecast for FY18.



• Winnebago Industries, Inc. WGO reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter.



• salesforce.com, inc. CRM confirmed a deal to buy Mulesoft Inc (MULE) for about $5.90 billion in a cash-and-stock deal.