A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Edge Lower; Fed Minutes In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard is set to speak in St. Louis at 1:00 p.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 21 points to 18,503.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures declined 1.25 points to 2,175.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 1 point to 4,797.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures declined 0.75 percent to trade at $48.86 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 0.77 percent to trade at $46.22 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.90 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.49 percent and German DAX 30 index declining 1.18 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.19 percent, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.62 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.90 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.48 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.02 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.21 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Baird upgraded Cintas Corporation CTAS from Neutral to Outperform.

Cintas shares rose 1.89 percent to $115.12 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Childrens Place Inc PLCE reported better-than-expected results for the second quarter. The company boosted its full year outlook sending the stock. To read the full news, click here.



• Urban Outfitters, Inc. URBN reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter on Tuesday. To read the full news, click here.



• Target Corporation TGT reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter, but lowered its full-year profit guidance.



• Lowe's Companies, Inc. LOW reported weaker-than-expected results for the second quarter and cut its earnings outlook for the full year.