Pre-open movers
U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT) and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA). Gap Inc (NYSE: GPS), Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) and Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) will release earnings after the closing bell. Data on initial jobless claims
for the latest week and the Philadelphia Fed general conditions index for August will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on
industrial production for July will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET. Data on e-commerce retail sales for the second quarter and the
index of leading economic indicators for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert
Kaplan is set to speak in Lubbock, Texas at 1:00 p.m. ET, while Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari will speak
in Edina, Minnesota at 1:45 p.m. ET.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 15 points to 21,996.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell
2.75 points to 2,464.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 15.25 points to 5,908.25.
Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.16 percent to trade at $50.19 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures
dropped 0.30 percent to trade at $46.64 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is
schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.
A Peek Into Global Markets
European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.44 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.15
percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.15 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.29 percent, while French CAC 40
Index slipped 0.16 percent.
In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.14 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.24 percent, China’s
Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.68 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.08 percent.
Broker Recommendation
Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW) from Neutral to Underweight.
Illinois Tool Works shares rose 0.64 percent to close at $140.03 on Wednesday.
Breaking news
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NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) reported
better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter on Wednesday.
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Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) disclosed
that it has received an approval for Vosevi in Canada.
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Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) reported
in-line earnings for its fourth quarter. However, the company projects Q1 sales to drop 1percent to 3 percent year-over-year.
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L Brands Inc (NYSE: LB) reported upbeat earnings for
its second quarter, but lowered its profit outlook for the full year.
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