A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Economic Data, Fed Minutes

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 October will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The pending home sales index for October is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester is set to speak in Boston, MA at 2:00 p.m. ET, while Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans will speak in Boston, MA at 2:00 p.m. ET. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan is set to speak in Boston, Massachusetts at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 77 points to 25,267, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 11 points to 2,730.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 47.5 points to 6,870.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.43 percent to trade at $57.92 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures slipped 1.11 percent to trade at $49.73 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 higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.07 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.32 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 0.27 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.23 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.63 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.39 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.87 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 1.32 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 1.27 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded McDonald's Corp MCD from Equal-Weight to Overweight and raised the price target from $173 to $210.

McDonald's shares rose 1.1 percent to $189.80 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• YETI Holdings, Inc. YETI reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter.
• Tech Data Corp TECD reported upbeat results for its third quarter.
• La-Z-Boy Incorporated LZB reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter and raised its quarterly dividend.
• Tilly’s Inc TLYS reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed estimates. The company issued weak fourth-quarter earnings guidance.