A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Mixed; Dollar Index Gains

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mixed in early pre-market trade. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan will speak at the Wichita Falls Annual Economic Forum in Wichita Falls, Texas at 1:20 p.m. ET, while Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker is set to speak at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland at 4:30 p.m. ET. San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will speak at the Bay Area Council in San Francisco at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 26 points to 18,813.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures declined 2 points to 2,159.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index dropped 6 points to 4,742.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.16 percent to trade at $44.23 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 1.43 percent to trade at $43.52 a barrel. The ICE Dollar index increased to 99.805 on Monday, versus 99.055 late Friday. The dollar rose to ¥107.54 yen versus the Japanese yen, compared to ¥106.69 late Friday.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.35 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.14 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.09 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.24 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.21 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average climbed 1.71 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.37 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.45 percent and India’s BSE Sensex declined 2.54 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) from Hold to Buy and raised the price target from $260.00 to $290.00.

Lockheed Martin shares rose 0.64 percent to $260.82 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT) disclosed that it has acquired a majority interest in Hackster, Inc.
• Siemens announced plans to acquire Mentor Graphics Corp (NASDAQ: MENT) for $37.25 per share in cash.
• Samsung Electronics announced plans to buy Harman International Industries Inc (NYSE: HAR) in an $8 billion deal.
• Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR) agreed to sell 36 skilled nursing facilities owned by the company, and operated by Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: KND) for $700 million.