A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of Jobless Claims Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the FHFA house price index for April is schedule for release at 9:00 a.m. ET. The index of leading economic indicators for May will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET, while the Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for June will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Board Gov. Jerome Powell is set to speak in Washington at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 9 points to 21,369.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 1.50 points to 2,432.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 3.25 points to 5,792.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.60 percent to trade at $45.09 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.47 percent to trade at $42.73 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 lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.54 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.27 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.02 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.37 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.27 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.14 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.08 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.28 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.02 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Wedbush upgraded Oracle Corporation ORCL from Neutral to Outperform.

Oracle shares rose 11.16 percent to $51.50 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Commercial Metals Company CMC reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter.



• Oracle Corporation ORCL reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Wednesday.



• Accenture Plc ACN reported in-line earnings for its third quarter, while sales exceeded estimates. The company also lowered its GAAP gross margin guidance.



• Steelcase Inc. SCS reported downbeat earnings for its first quarter and issued a weak outlook for the second quarter.