Courtesy of Benzinga.
Pre-open movers
US stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. Data on housing starts for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 54 points to 17,407.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 3.80 points to 2,013.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 8.50 points to 4,158.50.
A Peek Into Global Markets
European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.27%, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.04% and German DAX 30 index falling 0.19%. French CAC 40 Index declined 0.24% and London’s FTSE 100 Index rose 0.70%.
In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.49%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.68%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped 4.74% and India’s Sensex jumped 0.36%.
Broker Recommendation
Analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) from Overweight to Equal-weight.
Wal-Mart’s shares closed at $86.69 yesterday.
Breaking news
- Shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) gained around 1.9% in pre-market trading after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. To read the full news, click here.
- Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ: FANG) announced today the launch of an underwritten public offering of 1,500,000 shares of its common stock, subject to market and other conditions. To read the full news, click here.
- Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS) and Aurigene Discovery Technologies Limited today announced that they have entered into an exclusive collaboration agreement focused on immuno-oncology and selected precision oncology targets. To read the full news, click here.
- Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) reported fourth quarter 2014 financial results Tuesday. Total revenue came in at at $1.483 billion, inline with estimates of $1.48 billion and above the $962 million reported in the prior year period. To read the full news, click here.
Posted-In: Morgan Stanley US Stock FuturesNews Eurozone Futures Global Pre-Market Outlook Markets
