A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Down Ahead Of International Trade Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Data on international trade for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on consumer credit for January will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 27 points to 20,930.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 4.25 points to 2,371.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 8.25 points to 5,352.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 0.25 percent to trade at $56.15 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.34 percent to trade at $53.38 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.25 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index falling 0.15 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.04 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.09 percent, while French CAC 40 Index dropped 0.32 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.18 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.36 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.26 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.17 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Nomura upgraded General Motors Company GM from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $36.00 to $45.00.

General Motors shares fell 0.86 percent to close at $37.91 on Monday.

Breaking news

• Michaels Companies Inc MIK reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and issued a strong forecast for 2017.



• Brookfield Asset Management Inc BAM announced plans to acquire TerraForm Global Inc GLBL for around $787 million. The company also agreed to acquire 51 percent stake in TerraForm Power Inc TERP.



• Casey's General Stores Inc CASY posted weaker-than-expected earnings for its third quarter.



• Ascena Retail Group Inc ASNA posted a narrower-than-expected loss for its second quarter on Monday.