A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Drop Ahead Of Macy's, Kohl's Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Macy's Inc M and Kohl's Corporation KSS. Nordstrom, Inc. JWN and NVIDIA Corporation NVDA will release earnings after the closing bell. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and the Producer Price Index for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley is set to speak in New York at 10:00 a.m. ET. The U.S. Treasury budget report for July is schedule for release at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 61 points to 21,957.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 11 points to 2,462.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 36.75 points to 5,884.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.89 percent to trade at $53.17 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.63 percent to trade at $49.87 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 0.55 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.44 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.71 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 1.23 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.28 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.05 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 1.13 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.42 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.84 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded Cerner Corporation CERN from Underweight to Equal-Weight.

Cerner shares rose 0.82 percent to $63.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Brinker International, Inc. EAT reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.



• Planet Fitness Inc PLNT reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter on Wednesday.



• Jack in the Box Inc. JACK posted downbeat earnings for its third quarter on Wednesday.



• Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. CBI posted a surprise loss for its second quarter and reported its intent to sell technology unit.