US Stock Futures Signal Higher Start On Wall Street

US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for March will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 85.50 points to 17,855.50, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 9.15 points to 2,084.65. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 13.40 points to 4,362.40.

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.45 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.61 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.48 percent. French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.30 percent and London's FTSE 100 Index rose 0.28 percent. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.09 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index dropped 2.02 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.64 percent and India's BSE Sensex dipped 1.95 percent.

Analysts at Jefferies downgraded Nokia Corporation (ADR)

from Buy to Hold.. Nokia shares fell 0.52 percent to $7.58 in pre-market trading.