A Peek Into The Markets: Dow Futures Fall Over 100 Points

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. The housing market index for November and e-Commerce Retail Sales for the third quarter will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams is set to speak in Bronx, NY.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 104 points to 25,347, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 11.90 points to 2,731.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index dipped 33.25 points to 6,862.00.

Oil prices traded mixed as Brent crude futures fell 0.21 percent to trade at $66.62 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.14 percent to trade at $56.54 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 mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.08 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.06 percent and German DAX 30 index dropped 0.18 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.49 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.01 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.65 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.72 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.91 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.56 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Piper Jaffray upgraded Big Lots, Inc. BIG from Neutral to Overweight and raised the price target from $43 to $53.

Big Lots shares rose 1.5 percent to $42.14 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Resolute Energy Corp REN agreed to be acquired for $35/share in cash and stock from Cimarex Energy Co XEC in a deal worth $1.6 billion.
• Colfax Corp CFX announced plans to acquire DJO Global for $3.15 billion in cash.
• Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc SPB reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Friday.
• JD.Com Inc JD reported downbeat revenue for its third quarter.