U.S. stocks were expected to open a little lower today, on the heels of three straight days of losses on rising bets the Federal Reserve will raise rates as soon as September.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1 percent to 17,750, while those for the S&P 500 index gave up 0.1 percent to 2,076.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index lost 0.2 percent to 4,421.75.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 fell for a third session in a row yesterday. The Dow slipped 0.5 percent to 17766.55 and the S&P lost 0.6 percent to 2079.28.\
The Fed has said it will raise rates only when it sees the economy improving. Economic indicators have been mixed, but the labor market has strengthened, with the May employment report coming in above expectations.
Investors are also looking for signs of progress in Greece’s debt talks. Creditors are growing increasingly frustrated with the country’s government after it rejected the terms of an aid package again last week and deferred a payment due to the International Monetary Fund.
DATA:
The monthly job-openings report is due at 10 a.m. At the same time, wholesale inventories for April also are set to be released.
MOVERS:
Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) fell 1 percent in premarket New York trading as the largest U.S. coal producer announced plans to fire about 250 workers in the coming months and close offices in Indiana and Wyoming amid falling demand and prices for the fossil fuel.
Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) rose 2.2 percent after the yogawear maker boosted its full-year outlook and reported first-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates.
Sage (NASDAQ:SAGE) jumped 13.8 percent to $75.15 after the drug developer's experimental injectable drug was found effective in treating postpartum depression.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), the world’s largest technology company, was down marginally at $127.65, a day after the launch of its streaming music service, Apple Music.
General Electric (NYSE:GE) skidded less than 0.1 percent in premarket trading. The company has agreed to sell its private-equity-lending unit to Canada’s largest pension fund in a deal valued at about $12 billion. The Wall Street Journal had reported the two companies were nearing a deal earlier this week.
Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) was little changed at $46.29 after saying it would acquire Garden Fresh Gourmet Inc. for $231 million.
Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) tumbled 6.8 percent in early trading after the retailer reported weaker-than-expected first quarter revenue.
General Motors (NYSE:GM) climbed 0.6 percent ahead of the bell, following a report that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is contacting activists to prod the U.S. car maker into a merger.
COMMODITIES:
Spot gold was up 0.6 percent at $1,180.46 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures for August delivery gained $6.50 an ounce to $1,180.10.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded up 2 percent in the Globex electronic session. July Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose 2.4 percent to $64.74 a barrel.
OTHER MARKETS:
Most European stock markets were down. the Stoxx Europe 600 headed for a sixth straight day in red, which would be the longest losing streak since December last year. Germany’s DAX 30 index broke below 11,000, taking the benchmark deeper into correction territory.
Asian shares closed broadly lower, with Japan's blue-chip Nikkei down 1.8 percent as soft inflation data from China and jitters about higher U.S. interest rates weighed on sentiment.