A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade. The Markit manufacturing PMI for June is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. Data on construction spending for May and the ISM manufacturing index for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta J. Mester is set to speak at EEFC event in London at 11:00 a.m. ET. Data on motor vehicle sales for June will be released today.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3 points to 17,816.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 1.40 points to 2,088.80. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 4.50 points to 4,404.00. US stock markets will be closed Monday for the Independence Day holiday.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures declined 0.60 percent to trade at $49.38 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 0.54 percent to trade at $48.04 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.87 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.41 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.61 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.63 percent, while French CAC 40 Index gained 0.53 percent. The eurozone's jobless rate declined to 10.1 percent in May, versus 10.2 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.68 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.75 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.10 percent and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.54 percent. Japanese consumer prices dropped 0.4 percent year-over-year in May, while China's official manufacturing PMI dropped to 50.0 in June, compared to 50.1 a month ago.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Evercore ISI Group downgraded QUALCOMM, Inc. QCOM from Buy to Hold.

Qualcomm shares fell 1.06 percent to $53.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Hertz Global Holdings Inc HTZ reported that it has received $2 billion proceeds from the separation of its equipment rental business. The company also announced a $395 million buyback plan.



• Micron Technology, Inc. MU reported a narrower-than-expected loss for the third quarter, but the company missed analysts’ sales estimates. The company also projected a surprise adjusted loss for the fourth quarter. Micron also announced number of initiatives to reduce costs, including global workforce reduction.



• Apple Inc. AAPL is in talks to acquire Jay Z's streaming-music service Tidal, the Wall Street Journal reported.



• Thor Industries, Inc. THO announced plans to acquire Jayco for $576 million in cash.