A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Wal-Mart Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Wal-Mart Stores Inc WMT and Ralph Lauren Corp RL. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and the Philadelphia Fed general conditions index for May will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The index of leading economic indicators for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester is set to speak in Minneapolis at 1:15 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 96 points to 20,509.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 8 points to 2,349.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 13 points to 5,564.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.92 percent to trade at $51.21 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 1.83 percent to trade at $48.17 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks for the U.S. is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 1.56 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.98 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.90 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 1.32 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 1.23 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.32 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.62 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.46 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.73 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Raymond James downgraded Expedia Inc EXPE from Outperform to Market Perform.

Expedia shares fell 3.41 percent to close at $140.41 on Wednesday.

Breaking news

• Hibbett Sports, Inc. HIBB reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.



• Cisco Systems, Inc. CSCO reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, but issued a weak revenue forecast for the current quarter. Cisco also announced plans to cut an additional 1,100 jobs.



• Sirius XM Holdings Inc. SIRI is in talks about bidding for Pandora Media Inc P, according to sources as reported by the New York Post. An offer could be made at $12.00 to $13.00 per share, a source said.



• L Brands Inc LB reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter and raised its FY17 outlook.