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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index for April will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index and the Richmond Fed's manufacturing index for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker will speak in London at 11:15 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is set to speak in London at 1:00 p.m. ET. Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari will speak in Houghton, Michigan at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 25 points to 21,343.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 3.50 points to 2,432.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 27.50 points to 5,749.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.27 percent to trade at $46.41 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 1.04 percent to trade at $43.83 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.26 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.60 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.48 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.21 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.68 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.36 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.12 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.18 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.58 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Susquehanna downgraded Monsanto Company MON from Positive to Neutral.

Monsanto shares rose 0.67 percent to close at $117.80 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.



• Western Digital Corp. WDC boosted its earnings forecast for the fourth quarter. The company now projects Q4 adjusted earnings of $2.85 per share, versus earlier outlook of $2.55 to $2.65 per share.



• Pacific Ethanol Inc PEIX announced plans to acquire Illinois Corn Processing for $76 million.



• Alphabet Inc GOOGL shares dropped around 1.3 percent in pre-market trading following a EUR 2.42 billion fine from the European Commission.