A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from several companies. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and the Philly Fed general conditions index for April will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The index of leading economic indicators for March will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard is set to speak in Washington at 8:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Governor Randal Quarles will testify before the Senate Banking Committee at 9:30 a.m. ET. Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester is set to speak in Pittsburgh at 6:45 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 6 points to 24,727, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 2.45 points to 2,707.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 0.50 points to 6,843.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.59 percent to trade at $73.91 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.53 percent to trade at $68.83 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.07 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.04 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.11 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.16 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.19 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.15 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.40 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.84 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.28 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Macquarie upgraded Sprint Corporation S from Underperform to Neutral.

Sprint shares rose 0.84 percent to close at $6.00 on Wednesday.

Breaking news

• Alcoa Corp AA reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter and raised its FY18 adjusted EBITDA outlook.



• Takada offered to buy Shire plc SHPG at £46.50 per share, Reuters reported.



• Danaher Corporation DHR reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.



• Bank of New York Mellon Corporation BK reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter.