A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Flat Ahead Of Retail Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from retailers. San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly is set to speak at 4:30 p.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Board of Governors Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles will speak in Salt Lake City, Utah at 6:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1 point to 26,119 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 0.55 points to 2,924.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 4.5 points to 7,732.00.

Oil prices traded mostly flat as Brent crude futures fell 0.1% to trade at $59.73 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $56.29 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.2%, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.3% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.1%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.5%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.3%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.55%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.23%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.11% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.2%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Citigroup downgraded HP Inc HPQ from Buy to Neutral and lowered the price target from $25 to $21.

HP shares fell 2% to $18.82 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Medtronic PLC MDT reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter and raised FY20 EPS guidance.
• Home Depot Inc HD reported upbeat earnings for its second quarter, while sales missed views. The company also lowered its 2019 sales outlook.
• Fabrinet FN reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter, but issued weak outlook for the first quarter.
• Baidu Inc BIDU reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter.