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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade. Data on international trade for October and non-farm productivity for the third quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on factory orders for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 3 points to 19,207.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 0.50 points to 2,204.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 4.25 points to 4,784.25.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures dropped 0.96 percent to trade at $54.41 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 1.39 percent to trade at $51.07 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.24 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.39 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.16 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.21 percent, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.30 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.47 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.75 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.16 percent and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.17 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Cowen & Co. downgraded Nike Inc NKE from Outperform to Market Perform.

Nike shares fell 0.96 percent to $51.35 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Roper Technologies Inc ROP announced plans to acquire Deltek for $2.8 billion in cash.



• AutoZone, Inc. AZO reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal first quarter, but sales missed estimates.



• Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. SNCR announced plans to buy Intralinks Holdings Inc IL for around $821 million.



• Coupa Software Inc COUP reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its third quarter.