A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Signal Higher Start On Wall Street

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Empire State manufacturing index for December is schedule for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on industrial production for November will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 48 points to 24,605.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 3.75 point to 2,659.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 12.25 points to 6,421.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.38 percent to trade at $63.55 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.67 percent to trade at $57.42 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.26 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.42 percent and German DAX 30 index falling 0.30 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.03 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.44 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.62 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.19 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.80 percent and India’s BSE Sensex dropped 0.65 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at KeyBanc downgraded Twenty-First Century Fox Inc FOXA from Overweight to Sector Weight.

Twenty-First Century Fox shares rose 0.32 percent to $34.99 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Adobe Systems Incorporated ADBE posted stronger-than-expected profit for its fourth quarter.



• Jabil Inc JBL reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter and also issued second quarter sales guidance above consensus.



• Oracle Corporation ORCL posted upbeat earnings for its second quarter, but revenue from its cloud-based business missed analysts' estimates.



• Costco Wholesale Corporation COST posted upbeat profit for its first quarter on Thursday.