US Stock Futures Flat; All Eyes On ADP Report

Pre-open movers US stock futures were mostly flat in early pre-market trade, ahead of economic data. The ADP national employment report for August will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET. Data on weekly jobless claims and nonfarm business productivity for the second quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on Factory orders for July and the ISM non-manufacturing index for August will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 4 points to 14,920.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 0.10 points to 1,653.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 2.50 points to 3,130.75. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.30%, London's FTSE 100 index rising 0.58% and STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.25%. German DAX 30 index rose 0.36% and French CAC 40 Index surged 0.40%. French unemployment rose to 10.9% in the second quarter, up from 10.8% in the first quarter. Asian markets ended mostly higher today. China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.24%, while Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.08%. Australia's ASX/S&P500 dropped 0.35%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.22% and India's Sensex jumped 2.22%. Australia reported a trade deficit of 765 million Australian dollars (US$701 million) in July, versus a revised trade surplus of A$243 million in June. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Deutsche Bank upgraded Louisiana-Pacific LPX from “hold” to “buy.” The target price for Louisiana-Pacific has been raised from $20 to $21. Louisiana-Pacific's shares closed at $15.26 yesterday. Breaking news

• Costco Wholesale COST reported upbeat same-store sales for August. To read the full news, click here.
• Jos. A. Bank Clothiers JOSB reported a 38% drop in its fiscal second-quarter profit. Jos. A. Bank's quarterly profit fell to $14.2 million, or $0.51 per share, from $23.2 million, or $0.83 per share, in the year-ago period. To read the full news, click here.
• Parkway Properties PKY and Thomas Properties Group TPGI announced today that they have signed a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Thomas Properties will merge with and into Parkway in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at approximately $1.2 billion. To read the full news, click here.
• Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co and Astex Pharmaceuticals ASTX, announced today that their respective Boards of Directors have unanimously approved a transaction under which Otsuka will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Astex for $8.50 per share in cash representing a 48% premium to the average closing stock price for the prior 30 day period. To read the full news, click here.