A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mostly Flat; Crude Oil Down Over 1%

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 12 points to 25,333.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 0.50 points to 2,781.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index dropped 2 points to 7,173.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.03 percent to trade at $75.67 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 1.20 percent to trade at $64.95 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.85 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.52 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.51 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.89 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.26 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.48 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.34 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.47 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.11 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Jefferies upgraded Occidental Petroleum Corporation OXY from Hold to Buy.

Occidental Petroleum shares fell 0.28 percent to close at $85.47 on Friday.

Breaking news

• KKR & Co. L.P. KKR announced plans to acquire Envision Healthcare Corp EVHC in an all-cash deal for around $9.9 billion.



• CIRCOR International, Inc. CIR disclosed a 3.28 million share common stock offering.



• Genworth Financial, Inc. GNW shares climbed over 27 percent premarket after the company reported that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has approved acquisition of the company by China Oceanwide.



• Rockwell Automation Inc. ROK announced a plan to make a $1 billion equity investment in PTC Inc. PTC by acquiring 10.6 million newly issued shares at $94.50. Rockwell also announced a $300 million buyback plan.