10:00 am : The key indices continue to hover near their respective lows and the S&P 500 is off by 0.2%. Though all ten S&P 500 sectors traded in the red at the outset of the session, recent trade has seen outperformance from financials. The sector is now registering slim gains as most majors outperform the broader market.

On the downside, the energy sector is shedding 0.4% as crude oil trades lower by 0.3%. The energy component currently trades near $95.40.DJ30 -40.28 NASDAQ -8.90 SP500 -2.80 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 947/208.8 mln/1205 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1133/78.5 mln/1565

09:50 am : The S&P 500 is off by 0.2% as the benchmark index trades near its early lows. Currently, all ten S&P 500 sectors are trading in the red with energy and materials as the weakest performers. Meanwhile, consumer staples, industrials, and tech shares are seeing slimmer losses than the broader market.

In notable movers, Sanofi (SNY 47.92, +1.40) is rising 3.0% after the company said it plans to acquire common stock of Regeneron (REGN 165.88, +1.89). Regeneron shares are currently halted.DJ30 -41.28 NASDAQ -6.14 SP500 -2.75 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 647/159.3 mln/1169 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1110/67.4 mln/1561

09:14 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P; futures vs fair value: -0.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +2.00. Heading into the open, equity futures are pointing to a slightly higher start to the session. Recent action has seen futures dip near their pre-market lows. The move coincided with slight weakness in crude oil as well as downticks across European markets where peripheral indices have underperformed for the duration of the session. Currently, Spain's IBEX is the worst performing European index, down