US Stock Futures Jump Ahead Of Jobless Claims - Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Challenger job-cut report for December will be released at 7:30 a.m. ET, while weekly jobless claims data will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on consumer credit for November will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 175 points to 17,682.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 18.80 points to 2,038.40. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 42 points to 4,193.50.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index jumping 1.45%, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 1.56% and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.30%. French CAC 40 Index gained 1.84% and London's FTSE 100 Index rose 1.34%. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.67%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.65%, China's Shanghai Composite Index slipped 2.39% and India's Sensex jumped 1.36%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus downgraded

Google Inc.GOOGL

from Buy to Hold. Google's shares closed at $505.15 yesterday.

Breaking news

Costco Wholesale Corp. COST reported a 3% gain its same-store sales for the five weeks ended January 4. To read the full news, click here.
Achaogen, Inc. AKAO today announced that the Company's lead product candidate, plazomicin, has received Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To read the full news, click here.
Novartis AG NVS announced today positive top-line results from the pivotal Phase III clinical trial programs for QVA149 (indacaterol/glycopyrronium bromide) and NVA237 (glycopyrronium bromide) to support New Drug Applications (NDAs) with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the long-term maintenance treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To read the full news, click here.
Dermira, Inc., DERM, and UCB UCBJY, announced today that the first patients have been dosed in the Phase 3 clinical program designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CIMZIA (certolizumab pegol) in adult patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis. To read the full news, click here.

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