US Stock Futures Surge Ahead Of ADP Report, Fed Minutes

US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The ADP national employment report for December will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET, while international trade data for November will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 94 points to 17,384.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 12.20 points to 2,006.60. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 21.50 points to 4,123.75.

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index jumping 1.49%, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 1% and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.19%. French CAC 40 Index gained 1.30% and London's FTSE 100 Index rose 1.40%. Italy's unemployment rate rose to 13.4% in November, versus 13.3% in October. Unemployment in Germany declined by 27,000 in December, versus a 16,000 fall in November. German retail sales dropped by 0.8% in annual terms in November. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.01%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.83%, China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.67% and India's Sensex slipped 0.29%.

Analysts at KeyBanc downgraded

from Buy to Hold and removed the price target of $65. Joy Global's shares fell 2.07% to close at $44.50 yesterday.