A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Rise; All Eyes On Jackson Hole Meeting

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Fed Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi are projected to speak at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on existing home sales for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for August will be released at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 30 points to 21,826.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 2.75 points to 2,444.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 14.50 points to 5,863.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.36 percent to trade at $52.38 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 0.52 percent to trade at $48.16 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.56 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.48 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.38 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.39 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.27 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.42 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.43 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.49 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.09 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) TEVA from Neutral to Underperform.

Teva shares fell 2.18 percent to $16.13 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Hormel Foods Corp HRL reported weaker-than-expected profit for its third quarter and lowered its FY17 earnings outlook.



• Tiffany & Co. TIF reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter.



• HP Inc HPQ reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter and raised its fiscal 2017 year outlook.



• Williams-Sonoma, Inc. WSM posted better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.