A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of Fed Minutes

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will speak in New York at 10:00 a.m. ET, while Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic is set to speak in Dallas, TX at 10:10 a.m. ET. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan is set to speak in Dallas, TX at 10:15 a.m. ET, while Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic will speak in Dallas, TX at 4:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 25 points to 25,850.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 4.6 points to 2,861.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 23 points to 7,441.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.4 percent to trade at $71.88 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.8 percent to trade at $62.61 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.3 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbed 0.1 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 0.3 percent. The UK’s FTSE index was trading higher by 0.4 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.05 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.18 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.49 percent and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.36 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Stephens & Co. downgraded Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) from Overweight to Equal-Weight and lowered the price target from $57 to $52.

Activision Blizzard shares fell 1.4 percent to $42.86 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter and cut FY2019 guidance.
• VF Corp (NYSE: VFC) reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter.
• Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE: TOL) reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter, but issued weak 2019 home sales forecast.
• Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter. Comps were up 1 percent in the quarter.