A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Mixed; Morgan Stanley Profit Tops Views

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mixed in early pre-market trade. QUALCOMM, Inc. QCOM and American Express Company AXP will release earnings after the closing bell. Data on housing starts for June will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 11 points to 21,509.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 1.25 points to 2,459.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 14.25 points to 5,897.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.51 percent to trade at $49.09 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.34 percent to trade at $46.56 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.42 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.28 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.01 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.22 percent, while French CAC 40 Index gained 0.09 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.10 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.56 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.36 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.77 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at BMO Capital downgraded Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG from Outperform to Market Perform.

Chipotle shares fell 1.59 percent to $369.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Morgan Stanley MS reported better-than-expected profit for its second quarter.



• International Business Machines Corp. IBM reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter, while revenue missed estimates.



• U.S. Bancorp USB posted stronger-than-expected profit for its second quarter.



• Textron Inc. TXT reported upbeat earnings for its second quarter.