US Stock Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of CPI, Housing Starts

Related VNET Mid-Day Market Update: Foot Locker Jumps On Upbeat Results; Analogic Shares Slip Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mixed; Big Lots Earnings Beat Street View Related KTOS Weakness Seen in Kratos Defense & Security (KTOS): Stock Falls 5.3% - Tale of the Tape Earnings Scheduled For March 11, 2014

Pre-open movers

US stock futures slipped in early pre-market trading, ahead of economic data. The Federal Open Market Committee will begin its 2-day policy meeting today. The Consumer Price Index and housing starts data for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 12 points to 16,154.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 2.40 points to 1,848.30. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 6 points to 3,645.50.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.16%, London's FTSE 100 index dropping 0.14% and STOXX Europe 600 Index slipping 0.15%. German DAX 30 index declined 0.42% and French CAC 40 Index fell 0.11%.

Asian markets ended higher today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average surged 0.94%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.51% and China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.08% and India's BSE Sensex gained 0.1%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded 21Vianet Group (NASDAQ: VNET) from "neutral" to "outperform." The target price for 21Vianet Group has been raised from $27 to $36.

21Vianet's shares closed at $27.80 yesterday.

Breaking news

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ: KTOS) announced today that its Public Safety & Security (PSS) Division recently received an initial $4.5 million contract award for the deployment of specialized security and surveillance related products, equipment, and system integration services across a large public school district located in the eastern United States. To read the full news, click here. Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) upcoming unconventional stock split will enable Co-founder Sergey Brin and Larry Page to maintain close control over the company. The stock split will diminish shareholders voices and modify how the company is represented in the S&P 500 index. To read the full news, click here. Veeva Systems (NYSE: VEEV) today announced that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed public offering of shares of its Class A common stock. To read the full news, click here. The Hertz (NYSE: HTZ) today announced that its board of directors has approved plans to separate into two independent, publicly traded companies. To read the full news, click here.

Posted-In: Credit Suisse US Stock FuturesNews Eurozone Futures Global Pre-Market Outlook Markets

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