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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mixed in early pre-market trade. The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index for July will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET. Data on new home sales for August, the Conference Board consumer confidence index for September and the Richmond Fed's manufacturing index for September will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester is set to speak in Cleveland, Ohio at 9:30 a.m. ET, while Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans will speak in Chicago at 9:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard is set to speak in Washington at 10:30 a.m. ET, while Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic will speak in Atlanta at 12:30 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is set to speak in Cleveland at 12:45 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 4 points to 22,272.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 1.25 point at 2,495.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 9.75 points to 5,886.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.30 percent to trade at $58.84 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures declined 0.06 percent to trade at $52.19 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.35 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index slipping 0.03 percent and German DAX 30 index declining 0.01 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.05 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.12 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.33 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.05 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.06 percent and India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.08 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Deutsche Bank upgraded General Motors Company GM 0.1% from Hold to Buy.

General Motors shares rose 1.52 percent to $40.02 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Red Hat Inc RHT 3.02% reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter and raised its guidance for the year.
• Moleculin Biotech Inc MBRX 14.56% disclosed that it has received the FDA approval for its Annamycin IND.
• Ascena Retail Group Inc ASNA 8.06% posted stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.
• SYNNEX Corporation SNX 5.68% reported upbeat results for its third quarter and issued a strong forecast for the fourth quarter.