A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of Economic Reports

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Data on retail sales for August and the Empire State manufacturing index for September will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on industrial production for August will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET. Data on business inventories for July and the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for September will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 9 points to 22,163.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 3.25 points to 2,491.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 9.25 points to 5,961.50.

Oil prices traded mixed as Brent crude futures rose 0.04 percent to trade at $55.49 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 0.02 percent to trade at $49.98 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.32 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index falling 0.15 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.11 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 1.27 percent, while French CAC 40 Index declined 0.16 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.52 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.11 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.53 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.10 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded Southwest Airlines Co LUV from Neutral to Overweight and raised the price target from $60.00 to $66.00.

Southwest shares rose 1.20 percent to $55.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Oracle Corporation ORCL reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter, but issued a weak profit forecast for the current quarter.



• T2 Biosystems Inc TTOO reported an offering of common stock.



• LightPath Technologies, Inc. LPTH reported Q4 net income of $6.4 million, up from $331,000 in the year-ago quarter. Its revenue climbed 90 percent to $9.0 million.



• Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc MRNS announced a public offering of common stock.