A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Fed Meeting

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade. The Federal Open Market Committee will begin its two-day policy meeting today. Data on housing starts for August, The current account report for the second quarter and import prices data for August will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 18 points to 22,317.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 2 points to 2,504.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 5.25 points to 5,992.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.68 percent to trade at $55.86 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.94 percent to trade at $50.38 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.36 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.05 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.11 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.33 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.05 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.96 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.38 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.18 percent and India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.07 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Baird upgraded McKesson Corporation MCK from Neutral to Outperform.

McKesson shares fell 0.95 percent to close at $148.42 on Monday.

Breaking news

• AutoZone, Inc. AZO reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.



• Steelcase Inc. SCS reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter on Monday.



• Mediwound Ltd MDWD priced its 4,400,000 offering of ordinary shares at $5 per share.



• Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. BECN reported a $300 million offering of common stock.