U.S. stocks are down slightly to start the day as global stocks are pulled down by mining and energy shares. The S&P 500 is down 0.22% and the Dow is down 0.19%.
Asian markets ended Monday mixed with hopes rising that Beijing will ease monetary policy to encourage growth. The Hang Seng was down 0.37%, while the Shanghai Composite was up 1.14%.
In Europe, markets are down today with commodity shares pulling indexes lower. The FTSE is down 0.29%, while the DAX is down 0.25%.
Energy futures are rising this morning. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil is up $0.08 to $48.36 per barrel, while natural gas is up $0.03 to $2.47. Metals prices are mixed this morning. Gold is up $2.30 to $1,175.10 per ounce and platinum is down $0.60 to $1014.00 an ounce. The Dollar is down versus the Euro and up versus the Yen.
SanDisk Corp. (SNDK), Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM), and Fitbit Inc.(FIT) are early risers, while Harley-Davidson, Inc. (HOG), International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) and Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) are down.
