A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Flat Ahead Of Fed Speakers, Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded flat in early pre-market trade. The Challenger job-cut report for September is schedule for release at 7:30 a.m. ET. Data on international trade for August and initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on factory orders for August will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell is set to speak in New York at 9:10 a.m. ET, while San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will speak in St. Louis at 9:15 a.m. ET. Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker is set to speak in Austin at 9:30 a.m. ET, while Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George will speak in Austin at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1 point to 22,608.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures were flat at 2,536.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 4 points to 6,008.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.59 percent to trade at $56.13 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.16 percent to trade at $50.06 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.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.29 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.18 percent and German DAX 30 index declining 0.24 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.24 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.07 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.01 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.73 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.28 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.25 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Citigroup downgraded GrubHub Inc GRUB from Buy to Neutral.

GrubHub shares fell 1.11 percent to $53.50 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Globalstar, Inc. GSAT reported a $125 million offering of common stock.



• Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. NBIX reported the FDA approval of 80mg INGREZZA capsules for the treatment of adults with tardive dyskinesia.



• SeaWorld Entertainment Inc SEAS is exploring a sale, Bloomberg reported.



• ImmunoGen, Inc. IMGN disclosed a 13 million share offering of common stock.