US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of FOMC Minutes

Pre-open movers US stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. The consumer price index for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while 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 dropped 59.5 points to 17,422.5, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 5.55 points to 2,088.45. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 12.30 points to 4,531.70. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.03 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.60 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.90 percent. French CAC 40 Index declined 0.56 percent and London's FTSE 100 Index fell 0.84 percent. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.61 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 1.31 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.23 percent and India's BSE Sensex rose 0.36 percent. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Atlantic Equities upgraded Google Inc GOOG from Neutral to Overweight and raised the price target from $560.00 to $825.00. Google shares rose 0.52 percent to $659.56 in pre-market trading. Breaking news

• Lowe's Companies, Inc. LOW reported downbeat earnings for its second quarter on Wednesday. However, the company's sales exceeded analysts' estimates. To read the full news, click here.
• Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA, announced today the appointment of Wan Ling Martello to serve as an independent director on the Company`s board of directors. To read the full news, click here.
• Staples, Inc. SPLS reported in-line earnings for the second quarter on Wednesday.To read the full news, click here.
• Syngenta AG (ADR) SYT announced today its intention to divest its premium Flowers seeds business from its Lawn and Garden operating unit. To read the full news, click here.