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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from JetBlue Airways Corporation JBLU, American Airlines Group Inc. AAL, Union Pacific Corporation UNP and The Procter & Gamble Company PG. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while rhe index of leading economic indicators for December is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 14 points to 29,126 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 0.95 points to 3,320.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 6.5 points to 9,202.25.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.3% to trade at $62.39 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.6% to trade at $55.85 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET, while the EIA’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.3%, STOXX Europe 600 Index falling 0.1% and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.3%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.3%, while French CAC 40 Index gained 0.1%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.98%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 1.52%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.75% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.66%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at CIBC upgraded Hudbay Minerals Inc HBM from Neutral to Outperformer and raised the price target from $5 to $8.

Hudbay Minerals shares rose 1.5% to $3.46 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Southwest Airlines Co LUV reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.
• Citrix Systems, Inc. CTXS reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.
• Teradyne, Inc. TER reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter and issued strong Q1 forecast. Teradyne raised its quarterly dividend from $0.09 to $0.10 per share and reported a $1 billion buyback plan.
• HB Fuller Co FUL reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Wednesday.