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

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

Lisa Levin      4/18/2019 6:52:05 AM

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week, the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index for April and data on retail sales for March will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index for April is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. Data on business inventories for February and the index of leading economic indicators for March will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 28 points to 26,400.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures dropped 1.4 points to 2,899.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 4.5 points to 7,684.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.2 percent to trade at $71.75 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures climbed 0.3 percent to trade at $63.94 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration's weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.2 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.2 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 0.4 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.2 percent, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.3 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.84 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.54 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.4 percent and India's BSE Sensex fell 0.34 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Wedbush downgraded Snap Inc (NYSE: SNAP) from Outperform to Neutral.

Snap shares fell 4.5 percent to $11.22 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter.
• Dover Corp (NYSE: DOV) reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.
• Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter and raised its FY19 guidance.
• Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE: PIR) reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter. Deborah Rieger-Paganis has been appointed interim CFO.