A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Flat, All Eyes On Jobs Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade. Data on nonfarm payrolls and unemployment rate for September and the international trade report for August will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan is set to speak in Waco, Texas at 12:30 p.m. ET, while Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic will speak in Atlanta, GA at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4 points to 26,656, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 1 point to 2,906.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 10.75 points to 7,503.50.

Oil prices traded mostly higher as Brent crude futures fell 0.01 percent to trade at $84.57 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.34 percent to trade at $74.58 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.54 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.45 percent and German DAX 30 index dropped 0.63 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.54 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.36 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.80 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.19 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.06 percent and India’s BSE Sensex dropped 2.25 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Macquarie downgraded PepsiCo, Inc. PEP from Outperform to Neutral and lowered the price target from $122 to $107.

PepsiCo shares fell 0.78 percent to $105.78 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Costco Wholesale Corporation COST reported in-line earnings for its fourth quarter. The company expects to report 'material weakness' in its internal controls.
• Azure Power Global Ltd AZRE priced its 14.8 million share offering at $12.50 per share.
• Smart Global Holdings Inc SGH reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and issued strong first-quarter earnings guidance.
• Histogenics Corp HSGX reported an offering of common stock and warrants.