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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade. The FHFA house price index for March will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET, while data on existing home sales for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan is set to speak in Toronto at 6:00 p.m. ET, while Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari will speak in Ashland, Wisconsin at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2 points to 20,917, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 0.50 points to 2,397.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 5.75 points to 5,717.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.18 percent to trade at $54.25 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.02 percent to trade at $51.48 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 0.14 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.04 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.14 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.28 percent, while French CAC 40 Index declined 0.13 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.66 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.10 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.07 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.21 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded United States Steel Corporation X from Neutral to Outperform.

United States Steel shares rose 3.29 percent to $21.05 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Tiffany & Co. TIF reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, but sales missed estimates. Comparable store sales dropped 3 percent during the quarter.



• Intuit Inc. INTU reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter and raised its FY17 outlook.



• Lowe's Companies, Inc. LOW posted weaker-than-expected results for its first quarter.



• Advance Auto Parts, Inc. AAP posted downbeat earnings for its first quarter on Wednesday.