A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Surge Ahead Of Jobless Claims, Consumer Spending Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and consumer spending for October will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Chicago PMI for November is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester is set to speak in Washington at 8:30 a.m. ET, while Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan will speak in Dallas at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 97 points to 24,015, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 9 points to 2,634.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 21 points to 6,326.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.58 percent to trade at $64.11 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.91 percent to trade at $57.82 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage 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 rising 0.41 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.57 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.78 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.22 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.48 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.57 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 1.51 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.62 percent and India’s BSE Sensex declined 1.35 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded HCA Healthcare Inc HCA from Neutral to Overweight.

HCA Healthcare shares rose 2.65 percent to close at $80.14 on Wednesday.

Breaking news

• Synopsys, Inc. SNPS reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter, and issued strong first quarter and FY18 guidance.



• Juniper Networks, Inc. JNPR shares dropped around 7 percent in pre-market trading following denial by Nokia of talks with Juniper regarding potential acquisition.



• Semtech Corporation SMTC reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter, but issued light fourth quarter sales and earnings guidance.



• Tilly’s, Inc. TLYS reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its third quarter on Wednesday.