U.S. stock-index futures are pointing to a lower open after disappointing trade data from Beijing overnight.
S&P 500 futures are off 0.4 percent, while Nasdaq 100 futures are down 0.5 percent, but both are off their worst levels of the pre-market session. European bourses are down across the board, with Germany's DAX falling 1.3 percent after a sharp decline in the ZEW economic-sentiment survey. France's CAC is lower by 1.4 percent and the U.K. FTSE by 0.8 percent.
Japan's Nikkei led losses in Asia, falling 1.11 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.57 percent after Chinese data showed that exports fell 3.7 percent and imports dropped more than 20 percent from a year earlier, though the Shanghai Composite closed higher by 0.18 percent.
The S&P 500 rose 0.13 percent to 2017.46 yesterday, remaining above its 50-day moving average for the third day in a row. The benchmark index has closed higher for 9 out of the last 10 sessions.
optionMONSTER's proprietary researchLAB market scanner shows that energy stocks fell out of favor as crude oil dropped yesterday, with shale gas companies, land drillers, and fracking names leading as the worst-performing groups. Airlines continued to their recent strength, and consumer-chip makers also outperformed.
In company-specific news, Ryder System fell more than 7 percent after cutting guidance in the post-market yesterday. FMC dropped 9 percent after lowering its outlook last night. Johnson & Johnson is fractionally lower after announcing mixed results but raising guidance this morning.
Major names reporting after the closing bell include JP Morgan Chase, Intel, CSX, and Linear Technology. No economic releases are on today's schedule, though St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard is scheduled to speak this morning.
In commodities, oil is up 0.5 percent after dropping yesterday. Copper is down 1 percent, and gold and silver are both down about 0.8 percent.
The dollar bounced from a steeper loss overnight but remains fractionally lower this morning.
