US Stock Futures Jump Ahead of Earnings - Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP), GE Aero (NYSE:GE)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on housing starts for September will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Reuter's/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for October will be released at 9:55 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 167 points to 16,182.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 23 points to 1,873.60. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 52.50 points to 3,794.00.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.83%, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 1.37%. German DAX 30 index jumped 1.23%, French CAC 40 Index rose 1.46% and London's FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.57%. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average tumbled 1.40%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.53%, China's Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.65% and India's BSE Sensex gained 0.42%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded Urban Outfitters

URBN

from Overweight to Equal-weight. The price target for Urban Outfitters has been lowered from $44 to $31. Urban Outfitters' shares dipped 13.19% to $30.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

Shares of General Electric Co GE gained more than 2% in pre-market trading after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings. To read the full news, click here.
Eagle Materials EXP announced today that the company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire CRS Proppants LLC and its subsidiaries, including Great Northern Sand LLC (CRS Proppants), an established supplier of high-quality northern-white frac-sand to the energy industry. To read the full news, click here.
Honeywell International HON reported upbeat earnings for the third quarter and lifted the low end of its 2014 earnings forecast. To read the full news, click here.
Zayo Group Holdings ZAYO announced Thursday the pricing of its initial public offering of 21,052,631 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $19.00 per share. To read the full news, click here.

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