A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mixed; All Eyes On Fed Decision

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mixed in early pre-market trade. The Consumer Price Index for November will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, while the Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 20 points to 27,901 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 1.75 points to 3,137.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 13.25 points to 8,377.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.8% to trade at $63.82 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.6% to trade at $58.87 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.4%, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.1% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.3%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.2%, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.1%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.08%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.79%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.24% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.43%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at BMO Capital downgraded United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) from Outperform to Market Perform and lowered the price target from $125 to $123.

United Parcel Service shares fell 0.8% to $117.60 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Childrens Place Inc (NASDAQ: PLCE) reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed estimates. The company also issued Q4 guidance below analyst estimates.
• Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: OLLI) reported better-than-expected Q3 EPS and sales results.
• United Natural Foods Inc (NYSE: UNFI) reported downbeat Q1 earnings, while sales exceeded views.
• GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) reported weaker-than-expected results for its third quarter. The company also cut 2019 adjusted earnings guidance from $1.15-$1.30 to $0.10-$0.20.