A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Point To A Lower Open

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Federal Reserve Member of the Board of Governors Lael Brainard is set to speak in Richmond, VA at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 135 points to 25,838, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 17 points to 2,873.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index tumbled 56.75 points to 7,617.25.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.4 percent to trade at $69.63 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 0.2 percent to trade at $61.29 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.4 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 0.3 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 0.1 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.3 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.1 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.46 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 1.23 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.12 percent and India’s BSE Sensex slipped 1.27 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded Mosaic Co MOS from Neutral to Overweight and lowered the price target from $33 to $27.

Mosaic shares rose 2.4 percent to $23.80 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Chesapeake Energy Corporation CHK reported downbeat results for its first quarter.
• Wendys Co WEN announced better-than-expected results for its first quarter.
• MPLX LP MPLX announced plans to acquire Andeavor Logistics LP ANDX for an equity value of $9 billion.
• Electronic Arts Inc. EA reported better-than-expected sales for its fourth quarter.