Early movers: JCP, JPM, C, FB, SHLD, AAPL & more
AT&T – JPMorgan Chase downgraded AT&T stock to "neutral" from "overweight", pointing to increasing wireless competition among other factors.

JPMorgan Chase , Citigroup – The two are among eight banks fined a total of $2.3 billion by the European Union for collusion in setting benchmark interest rates. Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland were also among those fined. Separately, Citigroup was downgraded to "neutral" from "conviction buy" at Goldman Sachs , after a 27 percent jump since the stock was put on the "conviction buy" list————–.

Brown-Forman – The spirits producer earned 96 cents per share for the second quarter, beating estimates by five cents, with revenue also above consensus, as the company continues to find new customers for its whisky brands.

J.C. Penney — The retailer reported a 10.1 percent increase in November same-store sales. That marks the second straight monthly gain in comparable store sales for Penney.

Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:

U.S. Bancorp – Goldman added the bank's stock to its "conviction buy" list, citing a re-acceleration of revenue growth and "best in class" capital return.

Sears – Chairman and CEO Edward Lampert has reduced his stake in the retailer to 48.4 percent from 55.4 percent, according to an SEC filing. Lampert's hedge fund, ESL partners, distributed 7.4 million Sears shares to investors who decided to exit the fund, which did not sell any other shares.

Bob Evans Farms – The food and restaurant company reported second quarter profit of 35 cents per share, excluding certain items, well below estimates of 55 cents.Revenue was also below consensus, amid a drop in same store sales at the company's restaurants.

Express – The retailer earned 23 cents per share for the third quarter, two cents below estimates, though revenue was slightly above consensus, and also issued a light current quarter forecast. The company said its third quarter was "solid" despite an "extremely challenging and promotional environment".

Facebook – Instagram director of business operations Emily White is leaving the Facebook unit to become chief operating officer of Snapchat, according to All Things D.

Men's Wearhouse – The clothing chain may sell its off price chain K&G to Sycamore Partners, with Reuters reporting the private equity firm is in advanced talks with the retailer about such a transaction. Men's Wearhouse is in the midst of a takeover battle with Jos. A. Bank , having bid $1.5 billion last week to acquire its rival.

BlackBerry – Interim CEO John Chen is in that job "for the long haul", according to the smart phone maker's largest shareholder, Prem Watsa. Watsa is head of Fairfax Financial , which has helped lead the effort to fund a turnaround for the beleaguered company. Watsa made his comments in an interview with Reuters.

Google – Google's YouTube will not debut a planned until sometime in 2014, according to All Things D.

TE Connectivity – The Tyco spinoff raised its quarterly dividend by 16 percent, to 29 cents per share from 25. The company is a maker of electrical connection devices for a variety of industries.

Apple – Apple is on our watch list after closing at its highest level of 2013 in Tuesday's trading.

Mosaic – RBC Capital began coverage on the fertilizer producer with an "outperform" rating and a $57 price target.

eBay – Evercore Partners downgraded eBay's shares to "equal weight" from "overweight".

Flextronics – Goldman Sachs downgraded the electronics manufacturer to "sell" from "neutral", citing the company's relatively high exposure to the consumer sector.

—By CNBC's Peter Schacknow

Questions? Comments? Email us at marketinsider@cnbc.com