A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Jobless Claims, Fed Speakers

Pre-open movers U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings reports from several companies. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker will speak in New York at 8:00 a.m. ET, while Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari Evans is set to speak in Pierre, South Dakota at 9:00 a.m. ET. Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George will speak in Wichita, Kansas at 9:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 53 points to 24,680.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 5 points to 2,662.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 3 points to 6,551.75. Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.85 percent to trade at $64.95 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures slipped 0.89 percent to trade at $61.24 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration's weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage 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 1.55 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.90 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 1.25 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.87 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 1 percent. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.13 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.42 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped 1.43 percent and India's BSE Sensex gained 0.97 percent. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Berenberg upgraded Molson Coors Brewing Co TAP from Sell to Hold. Molson Coors shares fell 2.35 percent to close at $76.16 on Wednesday. Breaking news

• Twitter Inc TWTR reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.
• CVS Health Corp CVS reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.
• Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc REGN reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.
• Tesla Inc TSLA reported a narrower-than-expected loss for its fourth quarter and reaffirmed guidance.