TOOLS TRADES - Focus on U.S data - 4 Tips for Today's Trading

Focus on U.S data - 4 Tips for Today's Trading

: English; SCHOOL; 13 November 2015

Here are 4 tips for today's trading. This will help you decide where you should invest and what to look for:

1. Global market overview

Stock markets are wriggling around Friday, giving no clear indication of whether it will be a positive or negative day.

U.S. stock futures are pointing to a mixed open. European markets are also mixed in early trading, though there's a negative bias in the market.

Asian markets closed in the red, with most key indexes dropping by over 1%.

Traders in Asia may have taken their cue from the U.S. after the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 each shed 1.4% on Thursday. The Nasdaq dropped 1.2% over the course of the day.

"The S&P 500 is experiencing its first legitimate selling pressure since September," noted Mike O'Rourke, the chief market strategist at JonesTrading.

2. Stock market movers

2. Stock market movers

Nordstrom, Fossil, Syngenta: Shares in Nordstrom (JWN) are plunging by 20% premarket after the company's earnings missed expectations.

Shares in Fossil (FOSL) are also falling premarket, down nearly 17%, after the company said it was hurt by a strong dollar.

Shares in Swiss agribusiness Syngenta (SYT) are expected to surge at the open after Bloomberg reported that ChemChina is looking to acquire the business.

Investors will be keeping a close eye on the monthly retail sales report at 8:30 a.m. ET. This follows disappointing earnings from retailers such as Macy's (M), Nordstom and Fossil over the past week.

At 10 a.m., the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index will be released with new November data.

In Europe, the latest GDP data shows the eurozone economy grew by 1.6% in the third quarter compared to the same period in 2014. Growth slowed slightly on the previous quarter.