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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on wholesale inventories for November will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Tom Barkin is set to speak in Raleigh, NC at 8:35 a.m. ET, while St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard will speak in Little Rock, AR at 12:40 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak in Washington, DC at 12:40 p.m. ET, while Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans will speak in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at 1:00 p.m. ET. Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari is set to speak in Minneapolis, MN at 1:20 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida will speak in New York at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 93 points to 23,735.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 13.25 points to 2,569.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 39.25 points to 6,565.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures fell 0.8 percent to trade at $60.95 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 0.8 percent to trade at $51.96 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 mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.04 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.35 percent and German DAX 30 index dropped 0.35 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.17 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.76 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.29 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.22 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.36 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.29 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded Boeing Co BA from Equal-Weight to Overweight.

Boeing shares rose 0.6 percent to $345.92 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Target Corporation TGT reported a 5.7 percent year-over-year rise in same-store sales for the November-December period.
• KB Home KBH reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.
• Diana Containerships Inc DCIX reported a $6 million common share buyback program.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc BBBY reported upbeat profit for its third quarter and issued strong earnings forecast for 2019.