A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Drop Ahead Of Fed Chairman's Testimony

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade, ahead of semiannual testimony from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.

Data on housing starts and permits for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The FHFA house price index for December and the S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index for December will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for February will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 87 points to 26,012.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 4.75 points to 2,791.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index dipped 18 points to 7,106.25.

Oil prices traded mostly higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.7 percent to trade at $65.21 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.02 percent to trade at $55.47 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.6 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.1 percent and German DAX 30 index declined 0.3 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 1 percent, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.3 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.37 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.65 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.67 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.66 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at UBS downgraded Caterpillar Inc. CAT from Buy to Sell and lowered the price target from $154 to $125.

Caterpillar shares fell 3.5 percent to $136.50 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Home Depot Inc HD reported downbeat sales for its fourth quarter and issued weak 2019 earnings guidance.
• Worldpay Inc WP reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter.
• Dillard's, Inc. DDS reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Monday.
• Etsy Inc ETSY reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth-quarter and also issued strong sales guidance.