A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Consumer Price Index, Fed Speakers

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. The Consumer Price Index for September and data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari is set to speak in New York at 12:15 p.m. ET, while San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly will speak in La Jolla, California at 12:30 p.m. ET. San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly is set to speak in San Diego, California at 3:30 p.m. ET, while Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester will speak in University Heights, Ohio at 5:30 p.m. ET. The U.S. Treasury budget report for September will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 41 points to 26,264 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded fell 4.15 points to 2,914.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 8.5 points to 7,691.25.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.3% to trade at $58.12 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.2% to trade at $52.48 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

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

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.45%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.1%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.78% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.78%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Jefferies downgraded Kroger Co. KR from Buy to Hold and lowered the price target from $29 to $26.

Kroger shares rose 0.3% to close at $24.53 on Wednesday.

Breaking News

• Hormel Foods Corporation HRL narrowed its 2019 EPS forecast to $1.76-$1.80 from $1.71-$1.85.
• Costco Wholesale Corporation COST reported a 5.6% rise in its adjusted same-store sales for September. Its net sales climbed 5.6% to $14.41 billion in September.
• HEXO Corp. HEXO reported preliminary Q4 net sales of $14.5 million to $16.5 million and FY19 sales of $46.5 million to $48.5 million.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. BBBY reported that Mark Tritton will succeed Mary Winston as chief executive officer.