US Stock Futures Down; Apple Shares Slide After Weak Sales Forecast

Pre-open movers

US stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. The FHFA house price index for May will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET, while existing home sales data for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 54 points to 17,812.0, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 7.85 points to 2,106.65. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index dipped 55.30 points to 4,611.20.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.28 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.47 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.64 percent. French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.42 percent and London's FTSE 100 Index fell 1.12 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dipped 1.19 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.99 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.21 percent and India's BSE Sensex jumped 1.15 percent.

Broker Recommendation
Analysts at Cowen & Company downgraded Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) from Outperform to Market Perform. The target price for Apple has been lowered from $140 to $130.

Apple shares fell 6.54 percent to $122.20 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) declined more than 6 percent in pre-market trading, despite the company reporting better-than-expected results for the third quarter. The company's weak revenue forecast for the fourth quarter exerted pressure on the shares. To read the full news, click here.
• AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) today announced that the Phase 3 SUMIT study of selumetinib in combination with dacarbazine for the treatment of patients with metastatic uveal melanoma did not meet its primary endpoint of progression free survival. To read the full news, click here.
• Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter. To read the full news, click here.
• MSD, known as Merck in the United States and Canada, today announced that the European Commission has approved KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), the company's anti-PD-1 therapy, for the treatment of advanced (unresectable or metastatic) melanoma in adults. To read the full news, click here.