A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of ADP, International Trade Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade.

The ADP national employment report for February is schedule for release at 8:15 a.m. ET, while international trade report for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester is set to speak at 12:00 p.m. ET, while New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will speak at the Economic Club of New York at 12:10 p.m. ET. The Federal Reserve will release its latest Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 40 points to 25,787, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 3.5 points to 2,788.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 6 points to 7,159.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.1 percent to trade at $65.80 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.7 percent to trade at $56.14 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories 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 0.2 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.01 percent and German DAX 30 index declined 0.2 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.2 percent, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.2 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.6 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.26 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index surged 1.57 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.53 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Atlantic Equities upgraded Kohl's Corporation KSS from Underweight to Neutral.

Kohl's shares rose 1 percent to $72.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• J.Jill Inc JILL reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.
• Urban Outfitters, Inc. URBN reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed estimates.
• United Natural Foods Inc UNFI reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings and issued strong full-year forecast.
• Ambarella Inc AMBA reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.