A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Jobless Claims, Consumer Spending Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and consumer spending for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 73 points to 26,075.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 5.50 points to 2,909.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 15.75 points to 7,653.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.70 percent to trade at $77.68 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.60 percent to trade at $69.93 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.64 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.29 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.42 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.63 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.19 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.09 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.89 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.14 percent and India’s BSE Sensex declined 0.09 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Pivotal Research upgraded Genesco Inc. GCO from Hold to Buy and raised the price target from $44 to $54.

Genesco shares rose 1.87 percent to close at $46.35 on Wednesday.

Breaking News

• Dollar General Corp. DG reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.
• Signet Jewelers Ltd. SIG reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter and raised its FY19 forecast.
• Burlington Stores Inc BURL reported upbeat earnings for its second quarter, but issued weak earnings forecast for the current quarter.
• Ciena Corporation CIEN reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter.