A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings reports from General Motors Company GM, Eli Lilly and Company LLY, Humana Inc. HUM, GlaxoSmithKline plc GSK, MetLife, Inc. MET and Prudential Financial, Inc. PRU.

International trade report for November and data on nonfarm productivity for the fourth quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles is set to speak in New York at 6:05 p.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will speak in Washington D.C. at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 25 points to 25,299, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 2.5 points to 2,728.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 5.25 points to 7,002.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.71 percent to trade at $61.54 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.75 percent to trade at $53.26 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 lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.11 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.08 percent and German DAX 30 index dropped 0.44 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.01 percent, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.18 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.14 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.21 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.3 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.98 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded Church & Dwight Co., Inc. CHD from Sell to Neutral.

Church & Dwight shares rose 1.8 percent to $61.55 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Walt Disney Co DIS reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter. The company reported ESPN+ now has 2 million paid subscribers.
• MacroGenics Inc MGNX disclosed positive results from pivotal Phase 3 SOPHIA study of margetuximab.
• Walker & Dunlop, Inc. WD reported stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue for its fourth quarter.
• Snap Inc SNAP reported stronger-than-expected earnings and sales for its fourth quarter.