A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Mostly Flat Ahead Of Economic Data, Fed Speakers

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade. Data on Gross Domestic Product for the second quarter, U.S. international trade in goods for August and initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Pending home sales index for August will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart is set to speak at the 2016 Future of Florida Forum in Orlando at 8:50 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Board Governor Jerome Powell is set to speak in St. Louis at 10:00 a.m. ET. Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari will speak in Rapid City, South Dakota at 2:30 p.m. ET, Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George is set to speak at 4:15 p.m. ET, and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will speak at the Kansas City Fed's Minority Bankers Forum at 5:10 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1 point to 18,239.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures slipped 0.75 points to 2,162.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 3.75 points to 4,864.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures declined 0.39 percent to trade at $48.50 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 0.13 percent to trade at $46.99 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.06 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.74 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.76 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 1.1 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 1.15 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.39 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.51 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.36 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 1.64 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Macquarie upgraded BlackBerry Ltd BBRY from Underperform to Neutral and raised the price target from $7.00 to $8.50.

BlackBerry shares fell 0.96 percent to $8.25 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• PepsiCo, Inc. PEP delivered better than expected core EPS and revenue for the third quarter. The company's outlook for the current fiscal year came in above the estimates. To read the full news, click here.



• Sarepta Therapeutics Inc SRPT revealed that it dosed first patient in final stage clinical study of SRP-4045 and SRP-4053 for treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Amenable to exon 45 or 53 skipping. To read the full news, click here.



• ConAgra Foods Inc CAG reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, but sales missed expectations.



• Accenture Plc ACN delivered better than expected results for the fourth quarter. While adjusted EPS advanced 14 percent, net revenues grew 8 percent. The company's outlook for the fiscal year 2017 is in line with the estimates. To read the full news, click here.