A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Mixed Ahead Of Economic Data, Fed Minutes

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mixed in early pre-market trade. Data on durable goods orders for October and initial jobless claims for the recent week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The FHFA House Price Index for September is schedule for release at 9:00 a.m. ET, while the Markit manufacturing PMI for November will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET. Data on new home sales for October and the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for November will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11 points to 19,004.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures dropped 0.75 points to 2,199.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 2.50 points to 4,871.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.01 percent to trade at $49.11 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 0.12 percent to trade at $47.97 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET, while the EIA’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 12:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.05 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index falling 0.33 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.44 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.30 percent, while French CAC 40 Index declined 0.38 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.31 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.01 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.22 percent and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.35 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded McKesson Corporation MCK from Neutral to Underperform.

McKesson shares fell 0.01 percent to close at $141.33 on Monday.

Breaking news

• Eli Lilly and Co LLY plunged 15 percent in the pre-market hours Wednesday after the company’s drug solanezumab failed to meet primary endpoint for the treatment of mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease in a late-stage study. To read the full news, click here.



• Urban Outfitters, Inc. URBN reported weaker-than-expected results for its third quarter on Tuesday.



• Deere & Company DE reported stronger-than-expected profit for its fourth quarter on Wednesday.



• Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co HPE reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, but issued a weak profit forecast for the current quarter.