US Stock Futures Edge Down Ahead Of Consumer Price Index

Pre-open movers

US stock futures fell in early pre-market trade, ahead of the consumer price index. The Federal Open Market Committee will begin its two-day policy meeting today. The consumer price index for August will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the NAHB housing market index for September will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 8 points to 15,423.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 2.10 points to 1,689.10. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 1.75 points to 3,159.25.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.59%, London's FTSE 100 index dropping 0.41% and STOXX Europe 600 Index dipping 0.46%. German DAX 30 index declined 0.22% and French CAC 40 Index fell 0.33%. The euro zone trade surplus widened to 18.2 billion euros ($24.31 billion) in July, from EUR13.9 billion in the year-ago period. German ZEW economic expectations indicator surged to 49.6 points in September, versus 42.0 points in August.

Asian markets ended mostly lower today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropped 0.65%, while China's Shanghai Composite fell 2.05%. Australia's ASX/S&P500 gained 0.07%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.31% and India's Sensex rose 0.31%. Hong Kong's June-August jobless rate came in unchanged at 3.3% from the May-July period.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded US Airways Group (NYSE: LCC) from "neutral" to "overweight." The target price for US Airways has been raised from $18 to $26.

US Airways' shares closed at $18.07 yesterday.

Breaking news

Coty (NASDAQ: COTY) reported a narrower loss in the quarter ended June 30. To read the full news, click here. Acacia Research (NASDAQ: ACTG) announced today that its Brilliant Optical Solutions LLC subsidiary and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) have entered into an agreement that resolves the dispute between the parties currently pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Civil Action No. 4-12-cv-00356. To read the full news, click here. Rockwood Holdings (NYSE: ROC) announced today that it entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Titanium Dioxide Pigments and four other non-strategic businesses to Huntsman (NYSE: HUN) for an enterprise value of $1.325 billion, including the assumption of $225 million in pension obligations, and subject to other customary adjustments. To read the full news, click here. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE: RDY) announced today that Azacitidine for Injection 100 mg/vial, a bioequivalent generic version of VIDAZA® (azacitidine for injection), is approved by the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) on September 16, 2013. To read the full news, click here.