US Stock Futures Slip Ahead Of Home Price, Consumer Confidence Data

December 29, 2014

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Pre-open movers

US stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index for October will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET, while the Conference Board’s consumer confidence Index for December will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 26 points to 17,956.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 5.20 points to 2,080.60. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 6.25 points to 4,304.75.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.81%, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.51%. German DAX 30 index slipped 0.68%, French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.86% and London’s FTSE 100 Index fell 0.82%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average declined 1.57%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.14%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.07% and India’s Sensex jumped 0.57%.

Broker Recommendation
Analysts at Rafferty Capital downgraded BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) from Buy to Hold. The price target for BB&T has been lowered from $45 to $41.

BB&T’s shares closed at $39.37 yesterday.

Breaking news

New York REIT, Inc. (NYSE: NYRT) announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Michael Happel, the Company’s President, to the role of Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. To read the full news, click here.
Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ACTG) announced today that its Body Science LLC subsidiary has entered into a settlement agreement with A&D Engineering, Inc. regarding wireless medical diagnostic and monitoring systems. To read the full news, click here.
OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: OGXI) today announced that it has executed an initial agreement with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA) to regain rights to custirsen, an investigational compound currently being evaluated in Phase 3 clinical development as a treatment for prostate and lung cancers. To read the full news, click here.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) announced today completion of the rolling submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for asfotase alfa, an investigational, first-in-class enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of hypophosphatasia (HPP). To read the full news, click here.