A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of Fed Minutes

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 39 points to 25,844.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 3 points to 2,775.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 3 points to 7,063.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.9 percent to trade at $65.88 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 0.6 percent to trade at $55.78 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.5 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.3 percent and German DAX 30 index climbed 0.3 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.3 percent, while French CAC 40 Index gained 0.3 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.6 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.6 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 1.14 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded Southwest Airlines Co LUV from Neutral to Sell and lowered the price target from $66 to $54.

Southwest shares fell 2.9 percent to $56.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Gannett Co Inc GCI reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.
• La-Z-Boy Incorporated LZB reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its third quarter.
• Cadence Design Systems Inc CDNS reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Tuesday.
• CVS Health Corp CVS reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed views.