A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Tumble Ahead Of New-Home Sales, Consumer Sentiment Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Data on new home sales for January and the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for February will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 80 points to 20,717.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 10.50 points to 2,352.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 27.50 points to 5,304.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures dropped 0.83 percent to trade at $56.11 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.73 percent to trade at $54.05 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.42 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.94 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 1.41 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.68 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 1.31 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.45 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.62 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.06 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.10 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded Wendys Co WEN from Neutral to Overweight.

Wendy's shares fell 1.83 percent to close at $13.44 on Thursday.

Breaking news

• J C Penney Company Inc JCP reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and announced plans to close around 130-140 stores.



• Herbalife Ltd. HLF reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, but issued a weak outlook for the current quarter. The company also announced a joint venture with Tasly Holding Group, a leading traditional Chinese medicine company, that will be finalized within the next 60 days. Herbalife reported a $1.5 billion buyback plan in the quarter.



• Foot Locker, Inc. FL reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Friday.



• Nordstrom, Inc. JWN posted better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Thursday.