US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Economic Data

US stock futures are slightly lower this morning, as investors are awaiting economic data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 15 points to 13,118.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 2.60 points to 1,399.00. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 4.50 points to 2,722.25. US stocks closed mostly lower on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.02% to 13,172.14, the S&P 500 index falling 0.01% to 1,403.93 and the Nasdaq 100 index dropping 0.18% to 3,016.98. The Consumer Price Index for July and the New York Fed's Empire State index for August will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on July industrial production will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET, while the home builders' index will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Abercrombie & Fitch Co ANF is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.17 per share on revenue of $996.87 million. Deere & Company DE is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $2.31 per share on revenue of $9.56 billion. Cisco Systems CSCO is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.46 per share on revenue of $11.60 billion. NetApp NTAP is estimated to post its Q1 EPS at $0.38 on revenue of $1.46 billion. Staples SPLS is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.22 on revenue of $5.72 billion. Target TGT is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $1.01 on revenue of $16.75 billion. Limited Brands LTD is expected to post its Q2 EPS at $0.48 on revenue of $2.38 billion. PetSmart PETM is projected to post its Q2 EPS at $0.66 on revenue of $1.60 billion. JDS Uniphase JDSU posted better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results. KIT Digital KITD posted a wider second-quarter loss. European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index dropped 0.19%, French CAC 40 index fell 0.36%. London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.33% and German DAX 30 index fell 0.42%. Asian markets ended mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.05%, China's Shanghai Composite dipping 1.10% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.24%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 1.18%. Nymex crude oil futures dropped $0.10 to $93.33 a barrel, while gold futures declined $5.50 to $1,596.90 an ounce. The dollar index (DXY) gained 0.14% to 82.66, up from 82.540 in North American trade late Tuesday. The euro fell 0.32% versus the dollar to trade at $1.2283, versus $1.2327. The US dollar rose against the Japanese yen to trade at ¥78.96, versus ¥78.74 on Tuesday.