A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Lower, Crude Oil Up Over 1%

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Data on existing home sales for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 35 points to 25,772.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 4.50 points to 2,857.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 4.25 points to 7,393.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.39 percent to trade at $73.64 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures climbed 1.29 percent to trade at $66.69 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 mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.09 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.08 percent and German DAX 30 index climbing 0.05 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.29 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.28 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.32 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.41 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.11 percent and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.02 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Piper Jaffray downgraded Starbucks Corporation SBUX from Overweight to Neutral.

Starbucks shares fell 1.11 percent to $53.40 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Target Corporation TGT reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter and raised its FY18 outlook.
• Hartford Financial Services Group Inc HIG announced plans to acquire Navigators Group Inc NAVG for $70 per share in cash.
• Lowe's Companies, Inc. LOW reported upbeat earnings for its second quarter, but lowered its full-year outlook.
• Urban Outfitters, Inc. URBN reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.