A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Drop Ahead Of Jobless Claims, Fed Speakers

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and import prices for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans is set to speak in Naples, Fla. at 8:30 a.m. ET, while Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Harker will speak in Malvern, Pa. at 8:30 a.m. ET. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart is set to speak at 12:30 p.m. ET, while St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President Bullard will speak at 1:15 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is set to speak in Washington, D.C. at 7:00 p.m. ET. The U.S. Treasury budget report for December is schedule for release at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 45 points to 19,832.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 6.25 points to 2,264.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 14.50 points to 5,031.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 1.40 percent to trade at $55.87 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also rose 1.19 percent to trade at $53.69 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks 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 rising 0.37 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.28 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.60 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.13 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.11 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.19 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.46 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.56 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.39 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Pivotal Research downgraded Walt Disney Co DIS from Hold to Sell.

Disney shares fell 0.38 percent to $109.02 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL reported in-line earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales exceeded expectations.



• Shares of Histogenics Corp HSGX surged over 40 percent in pre-market trading after the company reported positive MRI data from NeoCart Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials on Wednesday.



• KB Home KBH posted upbeat results for its fourth quarter on Wednesday.



• Applied Optoelectronics Inc AAOI raised its guidance for the fourth quarter. The company now projects adjusted earnings of $0.77 to $0.82 per share on revenue of $84.5 million to $84.8 million.