A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Flat; GDP Report In Focus

Pre-open movers

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

Gross Domestic Product report for the fourth quarter and data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The pending home sales index for February is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET, while the Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for March is schedule for release at 11:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Board of Governors Vice Chairman Richard Clarida will speak in Paris, France at 9:30 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Member of the Board of Governors Michele Bowman will speak in Deming, NM at 10:00 a.m. ET. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic is set to speak in Atlanta, GA at 11:30 a.m. ET, while New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will speak in San Juan, Puerto Rico at 1:15 p.m. ET and 2:30 p.m. ET. St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard is set to speak in Madison, WI at 6:20 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3 points to 25,665.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 0.50 points to 2,811.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 0.5 points to 7,335.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.6 percent to trade at $67.43 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.7 percent to trade at $59.00 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.3 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.2 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 0.4 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.5 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.2 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.61 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.16 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.92 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.08 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Jefferies downgraded RYB Education Inc - ADR RYB from Buy to Hold and lowered the price target from $11.25 to $7.15.

RYB Education shares fell 3.5 percent to $6.60 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Accenture Plc ACN reported upbeat earnings for its second quarter and raised its FY19 EPS guidance.
• Movado Group, Inc MOV reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter.
• Lululemon Athletica inc. LULU reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. The company also reported a $500 million buyback.
• PVH Corp PVH reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. The company also added $750 million to its buyback plan, extending to June 2023.