A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Signal Lower Start On Wall Street

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Data on personal income and consumer spending for April will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Chicago PMI for May is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for May will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic is set to speak in Atlanta, GA at 9:15 a.m. ET, while New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will speak in New York at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 277 points to 24,913, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 32.2 points to 2,758.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index tumbled 103.8 points to 7,151.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 2.2 percent to trade at $63.89 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.9 percent to trade at $55.49 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 1.9 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 1.4 percent and German DAX 30 index dropped 2 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.9 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 1.6 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.63 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.79 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.24 percent and India’s BSE Sensex surged 0.84 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Piper Jaffray upgraded Kraft Heinz Co KHC from Underweight to Neutral and announced a $31 price target.

Kraft Heinz shares fell 0.2 percent to $27.34 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Williams-Sonoma, Inc. WSM reported stronger-than-expected for its first quarter on Thursday.
• Genesco Inc. GCO reported upbeat results for its first quarter.
• Big Lots, Inc. BIG reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.
• Gap Inc GPS reported weaker-than-expected results for its first quarter.